Forest fire continues to burn in Burlington Co., New Jersey

WASHINGTON TWP., N.J. (WPVI) -- A forest fire continues to burn in Burlington County, New Jersey on Sunday.

The fire was reported just after 2 p.m. Saturday and quickly grew to more than 5,000 acres, forcing a road closure and voluntary evacuations.

Officials said that as of Sunday morning, the fire stretched from Route 72 and the west stopped near Route 563 and to the east it stopped near Route 539.

As of 12:35 p.m. Sunday afternoon, New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported the fire is at 10,000 acres, 75 percent contained.

According to officials most of this area is woods; however, there are sporadic homes.

There were no evacuations overnight but the Chatsworth Fire Co. has been designated as a shelter.

Video from the Action Cam showed a large plume of smoke rising from the area Saturday.

Authorities shut down a six-mile stretch of Route 72 as they worked to get the fire under control.

There were voluntary evacuations in the nearby town of Chatsworth Saturday.

Officials say this blaze did not begin as a controlled burn as earlier reported.

There was no word as to what did spark the flames.