A large-scale wildfire that has engulfed Wharton Forest in the past two days has now spread to 12,000 acres, but officials said workers are “making significant progress” and the fire is now 70 percent under control.
The fire has been burning since Sunday in New Jersey’s largest state forest, located in Pine Barrens in southern Jersey. He burned parts of the woods in Washington, Chamong, Hammont and Mulika, according to the New Jersey Fire Department.
No one was hurt, and Gov. Phil Murphy said there seemed to be no danger to residents or private property.
But 50 residents were evacuated, and State Department Environment Commissioner Sean Laturet said it could lead to the largest wildfire the state has seen in 15 years.
It could eventually burn up to 15,000 acres before being fully controlled, Greg McLaughlin, chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Department, said Monday afternoon.
Authorities said the cause of the fire remained under investigation, but they ruled out natural causes.
Two highways remain closed: Route 206 from Chew to Atsion Roads and Route 542 from Green Bank to Columbia Roads.
The forest fire service said drivers in the area should be on the lookout for smoke and be on the lookout for firefighters in the area.
“Smoke gusts will remain high until the evening, as winds dwindle and partial clouds move over the area,” the service added.
Officials said 18 structures were “under threat”. Local volunteer fire departments in Atlantic, Burlington and Ocean counties are helping to protect them.
The latest fire, which burned at least 15,000 acres, was a 2007 fire that engulfed 17,000 acres of forests in southern Burlington and Ocean counties, forcing thousands to evacuate.
Forecasters say Monday’s weather – still dry but less windy than Sunday – should help firefighters. Murphy said the possibility of rain on Tuesday night could also be a “huge boost”.
The Village Batsto and all associated hiking and mountain biking trails are closed to visitors. The Mulika River campsite, the Mulika River trail and boat boats on the Mulika River are closed from the Asion recreation area to the village of Batsto. Pinelands Adventures stopped kayaking and canoeing.
Some district police departments, including Galloway, told residents they could find ashes around their cities.
“We now know that there is a strong smell of burning wood throughout the city, similar to what you would have when standing near a campfire,” Galloway police said Monday.
The smell of smoke was felt for at least 40 miles in Atlantic City and Brigantine on Monday morning, with fog cast over the cities of Jersey Shore.
Wharton is also the largest single piece of land in the New Jersey State Park system, covering 122,800 acres of pine forest, meadows, lakes and rivers within the Pinelands National Reserve in Burlington and the Atlantic.
Murphy on Monday praised the “heroic work” of state firefighters as well as county and local officials.
“Unfortunately, this is increasingly the world we are in with climate change,” Murphy said on his regular News 12 New Jersey television show. “It went from 2,000 acres to 11,000 in a very short period of time.”
NJ Advance Media freelance photographer Dave Hernandez and freelance writer Jeff Goldman contributed to this report.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today for NJ.com.
Brent Johnson can be reached on bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ johnsb01.
Add Comment