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Fire Sweeps Through Businesses Along Jersey's Seaside Boardwalk

A fire that started in an ice cream shop is spreading elsewhere along New Jersey's famous boardwalk in Seaside Park.

News video shows the boardwalk -- which survived Superstorm Sandy nearly a year ago -- clouded by thick smoke.

Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd tells The Star-Ledger the fire spread to adjacent structures around 2:30 p.m.

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By 4:30 p.m., firefighters were ordered to pull back because of the intensity of the flames, officials told newspaper.

"The problematic winds that are helping spread the fire are moving at about 10 to 20 miles per hour in the southern direction, according to Jim Bunker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Mount Holly station. Thunderstorms are expected in the area of Seaside Heights and Seaside Park in the next two to three hours, and that could change the winds that are giving firefighters difficulty, Bunker said."

NPR's Joel Rose reports that emergency crews evacuated a nearby amusement park as high winds spread embers and smoke.

The section of the Seaside boardwalk affected by the fire was damaged but not destroyed by Sandy.

The newspaper quotes Boyd as saying several firefighters and residents are being treated for smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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