Fire Safety Plan adopted in two communities in NJ Pine Barrens

In my wonderings recently on the NJ Pinelands Commission website, I found this draft version, Fire Safety Initiative: Stafford and Barnagat Townships (NJ). I skimmed it several days and was especially interested in plans to build fire breaks along residential areas in the two townships that are especially vulnerable to wildfires. I made a mental note to add spending some quality time with this plan to read up on what they are planning to do.

Just this morning, I was reading the posts in the general discussion forum on wildland fire when I came across a post in a thread on news from the NJ forest fire service community with a link to this Nov. 8th article from the Asbury Park Press reporting that Stafford and Barnagat Townships have officially adopted this plan.

One of the policy issues relating to wildfires that I am interested in relate to issues facing communities such as Stafford and Barnagat Townships in NJ who are on the wildland/urban interface. These two communities are in the NJ Pine Barrens near the Warren Grove military base. In May 2007, a fire, known as the Warren Grove fire, burned 10,000+ acres including portions of both townships. If I am not mistaken, the Warren Grove fire was started by a flare dropped from a military plan from Warren Grove on a training run. I believe that this fire safety plan was adopted, in part, in response to this fire.