The number of large wildfires this year has exceeded the average. Localized drought conditions, high temperatures and moderate winds have created conditions favorable to fire start and spread. Typically, fire activity diminishes during the summer months for several reasons - most of the vegetation is moisture rich, humidity is high and rain and thunderstorms are frequent. When periods of hot, dry weather persist for several weeks fire conditions build up.
To date (August 10, 2010), 935 fires have occurred with over 6,400 acres burned. An additional 188 incidents were responded to including missing persons, enforcement actions, and assistance to other agencies.
Major fires (larger than 100 acres) have occurred in every month since March. These include:
- 540 acre Paramount fire on 3/20/10,
- 105 acre Owassa Fire on 4/7/10
- 487 acre Baffin Brook Incident on 5/8/10
- 75 acre Hamilton fire on 5/8/10
- 890 acre Cedar Bridge fire on 6/24/10
- 400 acre Ft. Dix Range 34 fire on 6/27/10
- 2,240 acre Ft. Dix Range 1-14 fire on 7/15/10
- 677 acre Dan’s Bridge fire on 7/25
- 93 acre Great Egg Harbor fire in Winslow on 7/25
- 250 acre Sunfish Pond fire on 8/6/10
Remember – Only You Can Prevent Wildfire!
- Press Release -
TRENTON (10/P78) - The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is alerting motorists that smoke persisting along a stretch of the Atlantic City Expressway in Winslow, Camden County, is the smoldering remnants of an old wildfire and is not a cause for alarm.
Light smoke has been drifting over the Expressway between mileposts 33 and 35. Emergency dispatch operators have been inundated with calls reporting a fire in the area. The smoke is actually being caused by organic material that continues to smolder from a wildfire sparked by lightning on July 25.
The Expressway and other roads in the area remain open. The smoke is not thick enough to cause a driving hazard but it is expected to persist.
“This organic material is very dried out because of the lack of rainfall this summer and likely will continue smoldering until we get a significant rainfall,” said Division Forest Fire Warden Bill Edwards. “This has been an unusual summer, with three large fires in the Pinelands ignited by lightning strikes. We are not getting heavy rainfall that usually accompanies thunderstorms.”
Fires in Barnegat Township and Bass River State Forest were also caused by lightning. Typically, most wildfires in New Jersey are caused by people, with less than one percent attributed to lightning strikes.
The Winslow fire burned into low swampy areas that have dried out. These smoldering fires have burned into roots, causing burned trees to topple and creating unsafe conditions for firefighters to try to douse the burning organic material with water.
The fire, which burned an area encompassing 93 acres, is considered 100 percent contained with fire breaks and continues to be monitored by the Forest Fire Service.
