Fire at New Jersey boardwalk

Fire devastates New Jersey boardwalk rebuilt after Hurricane Sandy

Governor Chris Christie says new blow is 'unthinkable' as Seaside Park fire spreads to neighbouring borough

the Guardian,

12 September, 2013

A massive fire has devastated the iconic boardwark of a New Jersey shore town, Seaside Park, that was still rebuilding from damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

The fire engulfed several blocks of boardwalk and businesses. More than three hours after it started, in the vicinity of an ice cream shop, television footage showed flames still leaping into the sky and thick black smoke covering a stretch of the coastline. The fire spread into neighbouring Seaside Heights, where the MTV reality series Jersey Shore was filmed.

The New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, who arrived on the scene on Thursday night, promising the full assistance of the state. "It's a desperate situation here and we don't yet know the cause of the fire," he told NBC News, shortly after arriving.

Christie said 20 businesses had been damaged in a six-block length of the boardwalk and firefighters were struggling to contain the blaze.

"I told my staff, 'I feel like I want to throw up,'" Christie he told a media conference, referring to the effort to rebuild after the October 2012 storm. "It is just unthinkable."

The cause of the fire was unknown, Christie said. Some firefighters suffered minor injuries.

John Saaddy, a business owner in Seaside Heights, told CNN the fire had spread by racing through a "fire highway" under the boardwalk.

Firefighters tackle the huge blaze in Seaside Park. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Christie said winds were gusting at 30 to 40 mph as he spoke, stirring up the flames. Fire rews tore up the boardwalk at Lincoln Avenue, and dug a 20-foot trench, Christie said.

"That's where firefighters are making their stand right now to stop the spread any further north on the boardwalk," Christie said.

"It's raging," said a real estate agent, Michael Loundy, who works on tourism-related projects with the borough of Seaside Heights, as he watched fire companies battle the flames. "It is absolutely raging. The wind is blowing something fierce, making it very difficult for firefighters to fight."

He said fire crews were making a stand against the spread of the flames at DuPont Avenue, several blocks north of the boundary with Seaside Park to the south.

The flames were destroying new boardwalk wood that had been replaced days before Memorial Day weekend, as both towns raced to recover from the devastation caused by Sandy. Much of the Seaside Heights boardwalk was destroyed in the storm, last October, and a roller coaster that plunged off a damaged amusement pier became a defining image of the storm.

"This is another tremendous wrench in the recovery," said the mayor of Seaside Park, Robert Matthies.

The Seaside Heights police chief, Thomas Boyd, said a section of boardwalk was being removed to create a fire line to keep the blaze from spreading. He said the fire created embers the size of a fist.

Janet Meisner, a Seaside Park resident, said she feared the fire could be another crippling blow to the community, which depends on the boardwalk to keep its economy going.

"It's a great place to live, and I'm praying the firefighters can get this under control as soon as possible," Meisner said, as she watched the flames and thick black smoke shoot skyward. "We had to deal with Sandy last year and now this happens. We can't catch a break."