A New Jersey teenager, Joseph Kling, has been charged with arson for causing a wildfire in the Pine Barrens that has burned over 20 square miles. The fire, which started on Tuesday, has prompted evacuations, destroyed buildings, and caused elevated pollution. Authorities believe it's one of the worst wildfires in the region in the past 20 years.

A teenager from New Jersey is facing charges of arson after a fast-spreading wildfire in the Pine Barrens that has already burned more than 20 square miles and is expected to continue for several days. On Thursday, prosecutors from Ocean County announced that 19-year-old Joseph Kling, from Ocean Township, has been charged with both aggravated arson and arson related to the fire. The blaze, which began on Tuesday in Waretown, has since expanded across southern Ocean County in New Jersey.

An investigation led by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office's Arson Squad, in collaboration with the state’s forest fire service and the county fire marshal’s office, used global positioning system (GPS) technology to trace the fire's origin. The investigation revealed that the fire was caused by an improperly extinguished bonfire. According to a press release from the prosecutor’s office, Kling is accused of setting fire to wooden pallets and leaving the scene before the fire had been fully put out.

Kling was arrested at the Ocean Township police headquarters and later transferred to the Ocean County Jail, where he is being held pending a detention hearing.

The fire, which is located approximately 54 miles south of New York City, has caused elevated pollution levels throughout the city and surrounding areas, including Rockland, Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties, as reported by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Shawn LaTourette, the commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, informed the Associated Press that the fire remains "very active" and is expected to continue growing. He also noted, "As we continue to get this under full control, the expectation is that the number of acres burned will increase, particularly in unpopulated areas."

The fire has already destroyed at least one commercial building and led to thousands of evacuations. On Wednesday, acting Governor Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency. Officials have indicated that this fire could be the second-worst in the past two decades.