Joseph Kling, 19, of Waretown, has been charged with arson after starting a bonfire that sparked a 15,000 acre wildfire that remains unextinguished.

A 19-year-old Waretown man has been arrested and charged with aggravated arson in connection with the so-named Jones Road fire in Ocean County that consumed more than 15,000 acres of woodlands, authorities said.

Joseph Kling, 19, was charged with arson and aggravated arson in connection with the wildfire that started in Waretown (Ocean County’s Ocean Township) on Tuesday, according to law enforcement and state officials.