Ocean County forest fire grows overnight after plane crash; pilot's death confirmed
LACEY — A wildfire that started Saturday night after a single-engine plane crashed in the woods near the Robert J. Miller Air Park has grown to over 800 acres but is now 70% contained, according to authorities. Township police confirmed Monday that the pilot died.
The fire — now covering 831 acres — still threatens 25 structures, according to an update Monday morning from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. Dover Road and Mule Road continue to be closed from Lacey Road to Pinewald Keswick Road.
The pilot, who has not been identified to the public, was found dead on Sunday afternoon at the scene of the crash, Lacey Township police said.
Though police responded to the smoky scene shortly before midnight on Saturday, authorities could not immediately reach the scene of the airplane crash due to smoke and fire in the area, as well as the difficult terrain, Lacey police said. Sunday afternoon, authorities were able to get to the scene, where it was confirmed that the pilot was deceased.
The service "has made substantial progress" in containing the blaze, the agency said in a post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter.
"Structure protection is being provided by local volunteer fire companies," the fire service added. "We thank them for their assistance."
The plane, a Cirrus SR20 carrying only the pilot, crashed at 10:18 p.m. Saturday about a half-mile southwest of the Ocean County Airport, part of which lies in Berkeley, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the crash. The plane took off from Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall.
An official told the Asbury Park Press that local authorities first caught wind of the crash when they investigated a smoke condition south of the airport near Lacey Road about 11:40 p.m. Saturday.
It took about two hours for authorities at the scene to discover the fiery wreck, the official said.
Jenna Calderón covers breaking news and cold cases in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Before coming to the Press, she covered The Queen City for Cincinnati Magazine in Ohio. Contact her at 330-590-3903; jcalderon@gannettnj.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lacey wildfire: Pilot dead after plane crash in New Jersey
