The fire started around 7:45 a.m. Friday along Sea Gull Drive near Flamingo Drive in Avalon.
Fire officials say flames erupted in an unoccupied property and then spread to the next door house.
They say there was a family inside that house, but they managed to escape with no injuries.
The homes are part of a multi-million dollar community in the resort's back bays.
There is no immediate word on what caused the blaze.
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AVALON, NJ — A fire destroyed two multi-million-dollar bayfront homes Friday morning near the intersection of Pelican and Seagull drives.
One of the homes was occupied, and three adults and one child were able to escape safely, according to Avalon Fire Chief Ed Dean. They reported the blaze and crews arrived on the scene around 7:45 a.m., Dean said.
The two homes, assessed at just under $3 million each according to tax records, were both on fire when crews arrived, Dean said.
“It appeared that the fire started between the two buildings,” he added.
By 10:30 a.m., Dean said the fire was just about out and his department was getting ready to hand the incident over to investigators.
The neighboring homes, located at 6 Seagull Drive and 47 Pelican Drive, were “basically destroyed,” according to Dean. Firefighters sprayed the buildings with multiple powerful hoses to quell the blaze.
“The wind really wasn’t a factor this morning,” Dean said. “The biggest factor is this area’s lack of water supply.”
A hose was set up to pump water from Ocean Drive, nearly a mile away from the scene of the fire.
Departments from around Cape May County responded to the fire, including crews from Avalon, Stone Harbor, Green Creek, Wildwood, Rio Grande and Cape May Court House.