Crews who have been battling a large brush fire near Cheesequake State Park in Old Bridge sending a huge plume of smoke into the air and threatening nearby homes have the blaze contained.

The winds, however, continue to be a threat that could kick the fire back up according to the Middlesex Count Police, Fire & EMS Facebook page.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service crews requested air support and report "multiple acres heading into the park" a ccording to a tweet.  MyCentralJersey.com reports homes near Washington Avenue and Joseph Court were evacuated as a precaution. They are located at the western end of the park near Route 9.

Those residents have returned to their homes as of 3 p.m. as the fire moved away from that area according to NJ.com. Route 34 was reopened between Amboy Road and Morristown Road an hour later.

"Large quantities of Monmouth County Apparatus are responding," posts the Monmouth County Police, Fire & EMS Facebook page on Sunday morning as 20 different departments responded.. Water was dumped in buckets from a fire helicopter reports NJ.com.

The fire started around 8 a.m. in a marshy area of the park according to Newsworks. “The fire is spreading toward Washington Road in the Central Park development,”  Lt. Joseph Napoli of the Old Bridge Police Department told the website.. “We are evacuating as a precaution.”

The continuing dry weather and the winds had prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Red Flag Warning from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. today as outdoor fires have the potential to spread rapidly.

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