Large wildfire in Ocean County, New Jersey, small plane crash

Lacey Town, Ocean County—— Wildfires raged Sunday in Ocean County, New Jersey, the same area where the deadly plane crash Saturday night.

The fire broke out at Miller Air Park in Lacey Township, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Department.

As of 7 p.m. Sunday, the wildfire had grown to 600 acres and was 50 percent contained, officials said.

About 25 buildings were threatened by flames and several roads were closed.

Dover Road is closed from Lacey Road to Pinewald Keswick Road and Mule Road is closed from Pinewald Keswick Road.

Officials said the plane crashed just after 10 p.m. Saturday on the Mueller and Lacey roads in Lacey Township.

The plane crashed about a half mile southwest of Bayville Ocean County Airport.

The plane, a Cirrus SR20, took off from Farmingdale’s Monmouth Executive Airport, according to NTSB officials.

The pilot, who was the only person on board when the plane crashed, has not been identified by local officials.

NTSB officials did confirm that it was a fatal accident.

It was not immediately clear whether the crash sparked the wildfire. A spokesman for the State Forest Fire Department said the fire started at the same time as the crash site.

The NTSB has launched an investigation into both incidents.

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