Berkeley Police, Fire Officials Probing Cause Of Late Afternoon Brush Fire

Berkeley Township police and county investigators are working to determine what sparked a fire off Louis Avenue in the Bayville section of the township yesterday afternoon, Detective Sgt. James J. Smith said.

The blaze began around 5 p.m. in the area of Louis and Monmouth avenues, near the Ocean Gate border, he said.

"It is suspicious," Smith said. "The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and the Criminal Investigations Unit will be at the scene continuing the investigation tonight."

The Bayville Volunteer Fire Department, the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service and the Ocean County Fire Marshal's Office also responded, he said.

Louis Avenue, a dirt road off Mill Creek Road, in a heavily wooded area. No homes were threatened by the blaze, Smith said.

Berkeley Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.