A 14-year-old boy is charged with intentionally setting fire to a 52-acre site in New Jersey

A 14-year-old boy was arrested last week for allegedly using deliberate arson to start a wildfire in New Jersey that destroyed 52 acres of land, police said.

The Marlton, New Jersey, teenager is accused of setting the Oct. 30 fire that ravaged an area near Sycamore Drive and the Berlin Township line for several days, and police are now investigating whether he may have played a role in sparking a larger fire, Evesham police said Wednesday.

Evesham police, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and Evesham firefighters battled the inferno for several days and were able to contain it before any structures were damaged, police said in a news release.

Authorities began an investigation into the fire and soon found evidence that the flames were intentionally set.

The teenager, whose name was not released by police due to his age, was then identified as a suspect.

He was arrested without incident on November 7 and charged with aggravated arson and causing or endangering widespread injury or damage to property. He was lodged at the Middlesex Juvenile Detention Center pending his initial hearing.

Police are investigating whether a 375-acre fire in the same area near Sycamore Drive that broke out the same day of his arrest is related to the Oct. 30 blaze. The fire was extinguished after firefighters battled it for several days.

Wildfires have devastated several areas in New York and New Jersey in recent weeks as record-breaking dry weather coupled with strong winds hit the region.

An 18-year-old New York park worker died Saturday while battling a now-extinguished wildfire that swept both states.

Fire weather warnings are in effect for five states – New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

New York City is under a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning due to the increased risk of wildfires.

Elsewhere in New York and New Jersey, firefighters are struggling to contain a massive wildfire that is ravaging more than 7,000 acres in both states near the eastern edge of Greenwood Lake. The inferno, also called the Jennings Creek Fire, was only 30% contained as of Wednesday afternoon.

Most recently, a brush fire broke out in Manhattan’s Inwood Hill Park on Wednesday afternoon – sending thick smoke rising high over the city’s skyline.