Seaside Park Boardwalk Engulfed in Flames

By Kristen Rodman, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer

September 12,2013; 9:11PM,EDT

 

 

 

This frame grab from video provided by Fox 29 shows a raging fire in Seaside Park, N.J., on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013. The fire apparently started in an ice cream shop and spread several blocks down the New Jersey shore boardwalk that was damaged in Superstorm Sandy (AP Photo/Fox 29)
After being slammed by Superstorm Sandy last October, Seaside Park, N.J., went up in flames on Thursday afternoon.
The city's boardwalk erupted in flames around 2:30 p.m., local time, and spread into the Seaside Heights part of the boardwalk. The cause of the fire is still under investigation; however, there were thunderstorms in the area around the time that the fire began.
While there have been no reports of lightning strikes in the immediate area, it is possible that a strike could have contributed to the start of the fire. There were strikes in the area's vicinity around that time.
"Lightning strikes along the coast are harder to get an accurate fix on," AccuWeather Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. "There are not as many detection apparatuses along the coast."
The blaze has engulfed portions of the boardwalk that were recently rebuilt around Memorial Day after Sandy wreaked havoc on the boardwalk last fall.
Winds are a factor in the firefighting effect. Southerly winds have been averaging 8 to 16 mph with gusts of 20 to 25 mph.
"The gusts are causing some problems," Sosnowski said. "The winds are expected to shift more to the west. It could get more windy than earlier [Thursday] and cause more problems."
A roller coaster that once sat on the Funtown Pier in Seaside Heights, N.J., rests in the ocean on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, after the pier was washed away by superstorm Sandy which made landfall. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Seaside Park is infamously known for the image of the boardwalk's roller coaster in the ocean after Sandy hit the New Jersey coast last year.
Portions of the boardwalk were removed in an attempt to keep the fire contained, but the fire spread to neighboring Seaside Heights, according to The Associated Press.
There are no injuries being reported at this time.