The owner of a horse farm in Barnegat had to evacuate 21 horses as flames from the Jones Road Wildfire in Ocean County closed in Tuesday.

It took about nine trailers to move the 21 horses boarded at Curry Farms in Barnegat, according to the farm’s owner April Curry.

The farm was not in the evacuation zone but Curry said she was given the option to evacuate as the fire neared.

The horses were evacuated to Applegate Ranch in Manchester Township, Curry said.

The Jones Wildfire had grown to 3,200 acres and was 5% contained at about 8 p.m. Tuesday night, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said.

At least 3,000 people were forced to evacuate and 1,300 structures were threatened by the blaze Tuesday night, officials said.

The fire started around midday Tuesday in the Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area in Barnegat Township and rapidly spread east, officials said.

Wind gusts of 25 miles per hour from the northwest pushed the flames across dry areas of the pine barrens, officials from the National Weather Service said.

The fire caused a 17-mile stretch of the Garden State Parkway to close in both directions Tuesday evening, according to officials.

As of 9 p.m., the southbound Parkway was reopened between interchanges 69 and 63 and the northbound Parkway had reopened between interchanges 74 and 80. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority did not say when the rest of the road would reopen.

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Matthew Enuco may be reached at [email protected]. Follow Matt on X