A 19-year-old faces arson charges in connection to a southern New Jersey wildfire that has scorched at least 15,000 acres and prompted thousands of evacuations, officials said.

Joseph Kling, 19, is charged with arson in the Ocean County, N.J.​ wildfire that has scorched more than 15,000 acres.

A 19-year-old was accused of lighting a bonfire and leaving before it was extinguished, sparking one of the largest blazes in the state in decades.