6-Alarm Boardwalk Blaze
Via NY Daily News
The Jersey Shore can’t catch a break.
A raging fire propelled by powerful winds destroyed a massive swath of the famed Seaside Park boardwalk Thursday, nearly a year after it was leveled by Hurricane Sandy.
The fast-moving flames ravaged more than 80% of the popular boardwalk — gutting all 32 businesses and spewing fist-sized embers into the air, authorities said. No injuries were reported.
“This is like a sucker punch,” Seaside Park Business Administrator Robert Martucci told the Daily News.
“An unbelievable effort was made so that this town can come back. But for this to happen now is just inconceivable.”
The six-alarm blaze, fanned by winds topping 30 mph, quickly spread north to the boardwalk in neighboring Seaside Heights.
The fire, sparked inside a Kohr’s Ice Cream stand about 2:15 p.m., was still raging into the night.
More than 400 firefighters rushed to the scene and drew water from nearby Barnegat Bay to battle the flames.
But the fire marched on, prompting firefighters to rip up part of the boardwalk and dig a 20-foot trench in a frantic bid to stop the blaze’s advance.
“I feel like I want to throw up,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said as he raced to the scene.
At a hastily convened news conference, Christie had a specific message: Stay away.
“Do not come here,” Christie said. “We are still trying to bring more fire equipment in here. . . . We need to have easy access to this area of the boardwalk.”
Throngs of Jersey Shore residents stared in stunned silence as the fire devoured the boardwalk and people’s livelihoods.
“I’ve been coming here for my whole life,” said Casey Ciraolo, 31, of nearby Toms River. “It’s like getting kicked when you’re down. It’s almost like a flashback, but instead of a storm, it’s a fire.”