The N.J. Department of Environmental Protection’s Forest Fire Service has filed civil charges against five young adults for having set the 2019 Spring Hill Fire that burned 11,638 acres in Bass River and Penn State Forests, which began March 30 and burned into April.

Investigations found embers from an illegal bonfire on private property had escaped and set the nearby forest ablaze. Weather conditions fueled the spread.

Charged are Zachary L. Staff, 19, of Hainesport; Jaffrey D. Wood Jr., 20, and Zachary W.