Man charged with arson after authorities say he sparked New Jersey Pine Barrens fire

A man set a bonfire using wooden pallets in New Jersey's Pine Barrens and left them without fully extinguishing the blaze, sparking a quick-moving wildfire with smoke affecting air quality in the New York City area, authorities said Thursday.

Authorities arrested Joseph Kling, 19, of Waretown, New Jersey, and charged him with arson and aggravated arson in the fire that's still burning in southern New Jersey. The wildfire was described as starting with “an improperly extinguished bonfire.”

Judge James Gluck told Kling during a brief court appearance Thursday the state sought to have him detained pending trial and he wouldn't be released. Kling spoke briefly, only to clarify that his next court appearance was set for Tuesday. “Thank you. Have a good day,” he said when the judge dismissed him.

A public defender representing Kling during the hearing told the judge she had “nothing further” when he asked.

Emails from the public defender's office said Thursday it could not comment on a pending case so early in the process. A voice message was left at a possible phone number for Kling.

Authorities first spotted the blaze Tuesday morning from a fire tower when a smoke column appeared amid the pines. Law enforcement said they used a GPS to plot the origin of the fire and determined the cause was a bonfire that hadn't been put out.

Speaking Thursday afternoon at a news conference, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said “we can confidently say that we think the fire was set intentionally.” He declined further comment on why authorities believe Kling was responsible and other matters related to the investigation since it remains ongoing.

It's peak forest fire season in the vast pine wilderness that covers more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares) — an area roughly as large as the Grand Canyon — and firefighters are contending with low humidity and the aftermath of a monthslong drought in the region.

Though large tracts of the Pine Barrens are uninhabited, New Jersey is the nation's most densely populated state and officials have warned the fire could threaten developments nearby. The fire had grown to more than 23.8 square miles (61.6 square kilometers) on Thursday, approaching what officials believe to have been the largest wildfire in the state in the last two decades.

Authorities had said there were no injuries or deaths in the fire, but a commercial building and some vehicles were destroyed. About 5,000 people had been evacuated but were permitted to return home on Wednesday, officials said.

“This is still a very active fire,” LaTourette said Wednesday. “As we continue to get this under full control the expectation is that the number of acres will grow and will grow in a place that is unpopulated.”

Jim and Lenore Thoms, who own a business in an industrial park near the blaze, called the fire “a very scary experience” and praised the efforts of firefighters.

“The firefighters were phenomenal, they saved this whole park.” Jim Thoms said. “If they weren’t around, the way things were going on, you might not have seen any buildings at all.”

The effects of the fire are beginning to be seen beyond the state.

Higher-than-normal pollution levels were forecast Thursday in New York City, Rockland and Westchester counties, and in Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk counties, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said. The fire is roughly 54 miles (87 kilometers) south of New York City.

It said “going indoors may reduce exposure” to problems such as eye, nose and throat irritation, coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath.

In New York, dry conditions across the state are resulting in a high fire danger rating in several regions including New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, and portions of the North Country, according to the advisory. The rest of the state is at a moderate or low level of fire danger.

Officials said the fire is believed to be the second-worst in recent years, smaller only than a 2007 blaze that burned 26 square miles (67 square kilometers).

Acting New Jersey Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency Wednesday, and officials said Thursday that they’ve contained about 50% of the wildfire. Gov. Phil Murphy is on an official visit in Poland for a Holocaust memorial. He's due to fly back home Friday.

Video released by the state agency overseeing the fire service showed billowing white and black clouds of smoke, intense flames engulfing pines and firefighters dousing a charred structure.

The Pine Barrens sit between Philadelphia to the west and the Atlantic coast to the east. In the region with quick-draining sandy soil and trees with still-developing leaves, humidity remains low and winds can kick up, drying out the forest floor.

Bruce Shipkowski in Chatsworth, New Jersey; Hallie Golden in Seattle and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.

This image provided by the Ocean County, N.J., Jail shows Joseph Kling, 19, of Waretown, N.J., who is charged with arson and aggravated arson in a wildfire that's still burning in southern New Jersey, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Ocean County Jail via AP)

Smoke fills the air from a wildfire in Ocean County, N.J. on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (WPVI-TV via AP)

Smoke fills the air from a wildfire in Ocean County, N.J. on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (WPVI-TV via AP)

Smoke fills the air from a wildfire in Ocean County, N.J. on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (WPVI-TV via AP)

Smoke fills the sky as firefighters battle a wildfire in Lacey Townships, N.J. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via AP)

Firefighters battle a wildfire in Lacey Townships, N.J. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via AP)

Smoke fills the sky as firefighters battle a wildfire in Lacey Townships, N.J. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via AP)

Smoke fills the sky as firefighters battle a wildfire in Lacey Townships, N.J. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via AP)

Damage from a wildfire is seen Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Ocean Township, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Damage from a wildfire is seen Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Lacey Township, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Carmine, of Waretown, and his dog Amber sit outside an evacuation center at Southern Regional High School during wildfires on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, near Stafford Township, N.J. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

A Waretown volunteer firefighter helps prepare a firetruck to respond to a wildfire on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Waretown, N.J. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

People head into an evacuation shelter at Southern Regional High School from wildfires on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, near Stafford Township, N.J. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Waretown Volunteer Fire Company firefighters prepare to respond to a wildfire on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, in Waretown, N.J. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Smoke rises from a wildfire early Wednesday, April 23, 2025, near Barnegat Township, N.J. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Firefighters battle a house fire Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Lacey Township, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Smoke fills the sky from a wildfire in Lacey Townships, N.J. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via AP)

Smoke fills the sky from a wildfire in Lacey Townships, N.J. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via AP)

Smoke fills the sky as firefighters battle a wildfire in Lacey Townships, N.J. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via AP)

Firefighters battle a house fire Wednesday, April 23, 2025, in Lacey Township, N.J. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

A fire burns on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, near Waretown, N.J. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

Smoke fills the sky from a wildfire in Lacey Townships, N.J. on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection via AP)

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — There has already been triumph and tears, singing onstage and in the streets, and a touch of political division, as the 69th Eurovision Song Contest approaches its grand final in the Swiss city of Basel.

Musical acts from 26 countries will take the stage at the St. Jakobshalle arena on Saturday in a spectacular, sequin-drenched competition that has been uniting and dividing Europeans since 1956.

Here’s everything to know:

Eurovision is competition in which performers from countries across Europe, and a few beyond it, compete under their national flags with the aim of being crowned continental champion. Think of it as the Olympics of pop music or the World Cup with singing instead of soccer.

It’s a celebration of silly fun and music’s unifying power, but also a place where politics and regional rivalries play out.

“It’s Europe’s biggest cultural event,” said Dean Vuletic, an expert on the history of Eurovision. “It has been going on for almost 70 years and people love to watch it, not only for the show, for the glitter, the stage effects, the crazy costumes, but also because they like to see it as a reflection of the zeitgeist in Europe.”

Of 37 countries that sent performers to Eurovision, 11 were knocked out by public voting in semifinals on Tuesday and Thursday. Another six automatically qualified for the final: the host, Switzerland, and the “Big Five” that pay the most to the contest — France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K.

The 26 countries competing Saturday, in order of performance, are: Norway, Luxembourg, Estonia, Israel, Lithuania, Spain, Ukraine, the U.K, Austria, Iceland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Poland, Germany, Greece, Armenia, Switzerland, Malta, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, France, San Marino and Albania.

Favorites, according to oddsmakers, are KAJ, representing Sweden with “Bara Bada Bastu,” a jaunty serenade to the sauna. Dutch singer Claude is also highly rated with soulful ballad “C’est La Vie.” Other favorites include classically trained Austrian countertenor JJ with his pop-opera song “Wasted Love,” and Israel’s Yuval Raphael, with her anthemic “New Day Will Rise.”

Eurovision has a reputation for campy europop with nonsense lyrics — past winners include “La, La, La” and “Boom Bang-a-Bang.” But It has also produced some enduring pop classics. And it helped make stars of performers including ABBA — winners in 1974 with “Waterloo” — Celine Dion, Austrian drag performer Conchita Wurst and Italian rock band Måneskin.

This year’s finalists range from Lithuanian emo rockers Katarsis to a power ballad Spanish diva Melody and Ukrainian prog rockers Ziferblat.

Campiness, humor and double entendres abound. “Espresso Macchiato” is a comic ode to Italian stereotypes performed by Estonia’s Tommy Cash. Miriana Conte sings for Malta with the double entendre-filled “Serving” -- performed on a set including a glitter ball and giant lips, it is classic Eurovision.

It was once widely accepted that the most successful Eurovision songs were in English, but that is changing. This year’s contest features songs in a record 20 languages, including Ukrainian, Icelandic, Latvian, Maltese and Armenian.

Vuletic said viewers these days want “more authenticity in Eurovision entries.

“They don’t just want a standard pop song sung in English,” he said. “They want to also see something about the culture of the country that the song represents.”

Once all the acts have performed in the final, the winner is chosen by a famously complex mix of phone and online voters from around the world and rankings by music-industry juries in each of the Eurovision countries. As the results are announced, countries slide up and down the rankings and tensions build.

Ending up with “nul points,” or zero, is considered a national humiliation.

The final starts Saturday at 1900 GMT (3 p.m. EDT) and will be aired by national broadcasters in participating nations, on streaming service Peacock in the United States and in many countries on the Eurovision YouTube channel.

During and immediately after the final, viewers in participating countries can vote by phone, text message or the Eurovision app — but not for their own country. Viewers in the U.S. and other nonparticipating countries can vote all day Saturday, online at www.esc.vote or with the app. The combined “rest of the world” vote is given the weight of one individual country.

The contest’s motto is “united by music,” but the world’s divisions inevitably intrude.

Russia was banned from Eurovision after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and since then Ukrainian musicians — including 2022 winner Kalush Orchestra — have competed under the shadow of war in the home country.

This year’s contest has been roiled for a second year by disputes over Israel’s participation. Dozens of former participants, including Nemo, have called for Israel to be excluded over its conduct in the war against Hamas in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protests have both taken place in Basel, though on a much smaller scale than at last year’s event in Sweden.

A handful of protesters attempted to disrupt a rehearsal by Israeli singer Raphael on Thursday with oversized flags and whistles and were escorted from the arena. Organizers say they have tightened security ahead of the final.

Miriana Conte from Malta performs the song "SERVING" during the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Yuval Raphael from Israel performs the song "New Day Will Rise" during the second semi-final of the 69th Eurovision Song Contest, in Basel, Switzerland, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)