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Firefighters fought the blaze as black smoke poured out of the popular shop, as seen in a video posted by the Jersey Shore Hurricane News.

(Jersey Shore Hurricane News)

UPDATE: Get the latest live updates on the Seaside boardwalk fire

SEASIDE PARK — A raging fire that apparently began inside an ice cream store in Seaside Park has spread to at least 19 other buildings along the popular boardwalk on the Jersey Shore, and evacuations are being ordered for more than six blocks to the north, authorities said.

The blaze began about 2:05 p.m. at Kohr's Ice Cream near the boardwalk — not far from where Hurricane Sandy destroyed a large part of the Seaside Heights boardwalk last fall. The fire was fueled by a strong southeast wind and jumped to adjacent structures around 2:30 p.m., according to Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd.

Firefighters are battling the blaze as black smoke continues to pour out of the popular dessert shop and other structures, as seen in a video posted by the Jersey Shore Hurricane News on Facebook.

The winds are making it difficult for firefighters on scene to knock down the massive fire, according to Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

As of 4:30 p.m., firefighters were ordered to pull back because of the intensity of the flames, officials told The Star-Ledger.

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.

Several firefighters and residents were being treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, according to Boyd, who did not know what caused the fire. No serious injuries have been reported.

This section of the Seaside boardwalk was damaged but not destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, which slammed into the beach town last October, sending the roller coaster from Casino Pier into the ocean. Funtown Pier, adjacent to the burning boardwalk, was decimated by the storm.

Officials with the Toms River Police Department, Ocean County Sheriff's Office, Seaside Heights Police and Seaside Park Fire Department are all on the scene, according to Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy.

"We've got everyone in the county coming," Boyd said. "We're in trouble here. We've got major problems."

Jamie Sundermann walked through the thick black smoke with an armful of sports jerseys he was removing from his brother 's shop, Big Hearted John 's, a summer sundries business about six blocks from the blaze.

"It just kept getting worse and worse and worse, " Sundermann said about the fire.

As he loaded items into his white SUV, a police officer wearing a face mask walked south toward the fire.

"That 's really scary when you see that, " Sundermann said.

Seaside Heights resident Gene Welch was among the dozens of residents who were watching the fire from behind yellow police tape.

“We had a flood, and we stayed, and now we’re getting this,” Welch said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Borough administrator John Camera said the devasting fire comes just as the season was rebounding.

"The summer was soft, but it picked up toward the end,” he said. “We ended on an uptick, and we were hoping next year will be strong.”

Joe Maruca and his brother Dom own Maruca’s Pizza in Seaside Heights, only a block away from the raging fire, was standing on Dupont watching the blaze and guessing that it was consuming his business, a landmark for 50 years.

“I’m looking east and you can’t see the boardwalk, it’s fully engulfed,” he said.

Maruca was philosophic about the loss.

“This is life,” he said. “I beat cancer two years ago, so I can deal with this.”

“We had a fire in 1980, and we rebuit. This is life.”

Star-Ledger staff writers MaryAnn Spoto, Brian Donohue, Bobby Olivier and Peggy McGlone contributed to this report.

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