A fast-spreading wildfire in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey has burned 8,500 acres, forcing 3,000 residents to evacuate and shutting down a major stretch of the Garden State Parkway, reports The New York Times.

Authorities have charged a man with arson after they say he set wooden pallets on fire and failed to properly put them out in New Jersey's Pine Barrens, sparking an ongoing wildfire.