Kristi Funderburk/The Asbury Park Press, via Associated Press
Firefighters were removing strips of newly built boardwalk and pumping water from Barnegat Bay to try to contain the blaze.
By KATE ZERNIKE
Published: September 12, 2013
A Jersey Shore boardwalk barely rebuilt after Hurricane Sandy was ravaged by fire on Thursday, as flames that began in an ice cream shop quickly engulfed businesses along a stretch of beach in two towns.
Video footage showed flames and black plumes of smoke shooting high above the Boardwalk in Seaside Park. Within hours, strong gusts of wind had swept the fire north along the adjoining Boardwalk of Seaside Heights, where a roller coaster that had sat mangled in the ocean for months became a symbol of the storm’s damage. Reports from the scene said that the fire had swept through Funtown Arcade and Carousel Pier, apparently damaging a carousel that had been painstakingly restored after the storm.
Firefighters were removing strips of newly built boardwalk and pumping water from Barnegat Bay to try to contain the blaze. By evening they had dug a trench in the sand along the Boardwalk, hoping to stop it from moving farther north.
Mayor Robert Matthies of Seaside Park called the fire and strong winds “a combination of the worst elements at one time.” The fire began in the afternoon, and by evening, flames had spread west, to a condominium in Seaside Heights, threatening homes and businesses as far as four blocks inland.
The police had closed Route 35, the major artery north from Seaside Park through Seaside Heights and the other towns of the narrow barrier island, and had also closed off one of the bridges connecting it to the mainland.
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, whose national profile rose with his response to Hurricane Sandy, posted a message on Twitter just before 6 p.m. to say he was on his way to the scene of the fire. In July, the governor played games along the boardwalk in Seaside Heights with Prince Harry of Britain, in an effort to show that the shore had bounced back from the storm last October.
“Pictures and video of the fire are startling and sad given what Seaside Park and neighboring Seaside Heights have endured” with Hurricane Sandy, said Michael Dreniak, a spokesman for the governor. “Governor Christie is deeply concerned and will get a first-hand look shortly at the scene, where he will be speaking further with Mayor Matthies and Mayor Akers and offering the state’s full resources and assistance. Our concerns and prayers are also with firefighters and first responders at the scene battling the blaze.”
Firefighters were being treated for smoke inhalation, but officials said early on that it appeared there were no serious injuries.
The fire apparently started at Kohr’s custard shop along the Boardwalk in Seaside Park.
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