Firefighters battle a raging fire on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights, N.J. that apparently started in an ice cream shop and has spread several blocks to neighboring Seaside Heights, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013. The boardwalk was damaged in Superstorm Sandy and was being repaired. (AP Photo/The Asbury Park Press, Kristi Funderburk)SEASIDE PARK, N.J. - Firefighters appear to be getting the upper hand on a raging fire that destroyed much of an iconic Jersey shore boardwalk after a last-ditch effort to slow its spread by ripping up boards that had not yet burned.
Authorities had not declared the fire under control late Thursday but it appeared to have vastly lessened in intensity. Seaside Park Mayor Robert Matthies says "it certainly looks like it's been suppressed."
No serious injuries were reported. The fire burned more than 30 boardwalk businesses in Seaside Park and Seaside Heights.
The turning point came as public works crews in Seaside Heights ripped out 25 feet of the boardwalk - which had just been rebuilt after Superstorm Sandy - and filled the void with sand piles to block the flames' advance.