A 19-year-old faces arson charges in connection to a southern New Jersey wildfire that has scorched at least 15,000 acres and prompted thousands of evacuations, officials said.

The Ocean County, New Jersey, Jones Road Wildfire has burned thousands of acres, at one point forced thousands of evacuations, destroyed a business and closed some roads. A man faces arson charges.

A 19-year-old was accused of lighting a bonfire and leaving before it was extinguished, sparking one of the largest blazes in the state in decades.