Ryan Hughes

3 weeks ago | cbsnews.com | Ryan Hughes |Bill Seiders

Evacuation orders were lifted Wednesday morning in Ocean and Lacey townships in Ocean County, New Jersey, and thousands of people were allowed to return home as the Jones Road Wildfire continues to spread. So far, the wildfire has burned 12,500 acres and is 40% contained. "It's rough, it's a hard pill to swallow," Frank Pezzuti said. Long-time employees and the president of Liberty Garage Door and Awning returned to the small business to find the building reduced to rubble.

3 weeks ago | cbsnews.com | Ryan Hughes |Sean Tallant

Neighbors in Mercer County, New Jersey, have been told to be on the lookout after a black bear was spotted running past homes and into yards. Nicholas Hoffman pulled out his cellphone and started recording video when a bear ran past his home in Hamilton Township. "I kind of was half asleep, looked to my left, right across the street, and saw the bear walking across," Hoffman said. Hoffman pulled in his driveway around 6:30 a.m. Monday after working the night shift.

3 weeks ago | cbsnews.com | Ryan Hughes

South Jersey nonprofit and restaurant team up to help families in need on Good Friday Inside his kitchen, Kalieb Bey is doing what he loves, cooking jerk chicken, blackened catfish and preparing dozens of meals on Good Friday. "I do it because I know somebody needs it. I close on Easter Sunday, I don't even open up, but I make sure I do this," said Bey, who owns the Sea Bar in Sicklerville. Bey was not prepping the meals for customers.

4 weeks ago | cbsnews.com | Ryan Hughes |Ed Specht

Neighbors and businesses in Millville, New Jersey, have been rallying around several families who lost practically everything when a fire tore through their neighborhood last week. Christine Makosky has opened up her heart and her business. The Phenom Factory on South 8th Street, a sports training facility, has been transformed into a donation center. Tables are filled with mounds of clothes, containers of toiletries, and piles of children's toys.

1 month ago | cbsnews.com | Ryan Hughes |Jon Claudio

Families and crime survivors gathered during a healing vigil to honor their loved ones and to rally for solutions to help curb crime. "It's like living a nightmare that you can't wake up from," said Michele Parker. For nearly four years, Parker has been weathering the waves of agonizing pain after losing her youngest child. Her son, 23-year-old Evan Baylor, was shot and killed in West Philadelphia in June 2021. She says her whole world was taken in the blink of an eye.