'It's completely gone': Lacey Township, NJ business destroyed by wildfire
LACEY TWP., N.J. (WPVI) -- As fire crews continue making headway in their effort to douse the wildfire burning in Ocean County, all mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders have been lifted.
Action News spoke with officials from the only business destroyed by those flames.
MORE | Ocean County, NJ wildfire consumes more than 13,000 acres
"It's completely gone. There was about five million in product inside. Lost everything," said James Herbst from Liberty Overhead Door and Awning in Lacey Township.
Officials say that apart from a couple of small cabins, that was the only structure destroyed by the fire that first went up right around 10 o'clock Tuesday morning. Since then, it has consumed more than 13,000 acres.
The voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders were issued all across this region, even before a state of emergency was formally declared.
We spoke with people from the Pheasant Run 50+ community who described the frantic moments after being told they had to leave their homes right away.
"It was the scariest thing in my life, and I grabbed stuff. Grabbed my safety box and everything, but I forgot things like insurance papers," said Lynn Wilson.
Aimee Zettel, who lives nearby, says, "It's amazing what you just throw in the back. It's like a couple of bags of photo albums and a few mementos. Little mementos and that's your whole life."
Lacey Township Mayor Peter Curatolo says, all things considered, it could've been much worse.
"It's a real silver lining. We didn't lose any life. We didn't lose any homes. It's because our fire, police, and EMS worked so well together," he said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
