Fire burns thousands of acres in Pinelands

CHATSWORTH, N.J. (AP) -- Fire crews have contained a wind-whipped blaze that has burned more than 11,000 acres of state land in New Jersey's Pine Barrens.

State environmental protection department officials say the blaze was spotted Saturday afternoon in the Penn State Forest in Woodland Township.

Plumes of smoke from the fire were visible from as far as Freehold, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) away. The fire was declared 100 percent contained on Monday.

But the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

A portion of Route 72, the main road across the Pinelands, was temporarily closed by the fire.

But no homes or businesses were endangered by the blaze, and no injuries or mandatory evacuations were reported.

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