BARNEGAT TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire still burning in New Jersey on Wednesday forced thousands of people to evacuate and temporarily closed a stretch of a major highway.

A fast-moving wildfire in New Jersey expanded to 8,500 acres Tuesday afternoon, causing over 3,000 evacuations and threatening more than 1,300 structures while also closing a portion of the Garden State Parkway in the southern portion of the state.

A massive wildfire burning in central New Jersey has damaged multiple buildings and prompted evacuations for thousands. The fire, named the Jones Road wildfire, erupted the morning April 22 in southern Ocean County and spread 8,