Seaside Heights boardwalk fire: A fire from an ice-cream store sparks 19 other buildings along the famous boardwalk in New Jersey to catch the flames.

Up to six blocks north of the flames have been forced to leave and evacuate immediately for the time being, according to the authorities.

The blaze started around noon Thursday at Kohr's Ice Cream near the Seaside Heights boardwalk. The fire was swept up by a strong southeast wind and jumped to adjacent structures around 2:30 p.m., according to Seaside Heights Police Chief Thomas Boyd.

Firefighters have been battling the blaze as black smoke continues to pour out of the popular dessert shop and other structures, according to N.J.com.

The winds are making it difficult for firefighters on scene to knock down the blaze, 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.

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

Jamie Sundermann was trying to help out his brother's shop, Big Hearted John's, with evacuating before the shop possibly goes up in flames.

"It just kept getting worse and worse and worse, " Sundermann told NJ.com about the fire. "That's really scary when you see that."

Seaside Heights resident Gene Welch watched the fire from as close as they would let anybody.

"We had a flood, and we stayed, and now we're getting this," Welch said. "It's unbelievable."