SEASIDE PARK, New Jersey (AP) Two New Jersey seaside towns, ripped apart last year by a superstorm and newly rebuilt, woke up Friday to the aftermath of a new nightmare a raging fire that destroyed it all again.
"I feel like I want to throw up," the state's famously unscripted governor, Chris Christie, said Thursday after racing to the scene.
The Jersey shore is famous for Bruce Springsteen, crowded amusement parks and some of the most praised beaches on the U.S. East Coast. The communities depend on summer tourism.
Superstorm Sandy tore up the coast in late 2012, and the communities raced to prepare for business this summer. Seaside Heights, whose damaged roller coaster became a defining image of the storm, rushed to reconstruct its boardwalk in time for a May visit by Britain's Prince Harry. It finished with only hours to spare.
But on Thursday, the fire that started near an ice cream shop spread to destroy 50 local businesses and caused millions of dollars in damage. It raged for eight hours and destroyed about five blocks of boardwalk.