Saturday, April 18, 2009

NJ Forest Fire Service: prescribed burning

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) has had a prescribed burning program for many years. A friend and I spent a day in the Pine Barrens in central NJ in March. We drove near an area undergoing a prescribed burn. It was well marked, with signage saying that there was a prescribed burn going on and not to call 911 to report same. I also saw evidence of what may have been recent prescribed burn activities in that there were areas of burned ground with standing trees.

For more information on the NJFFS's prescribed burning program go here. There is also a very good short video describing the role of prescribed burning in NJ.

If you go to the home page of the NJFFS and scroll down to the bottom of the page, you will see the following statistics for prescribed burns in 2009:

Statewide Prescribed Burning Totals as of 4/06//09

Northern New Jersey - 749.50 acres
Central New Jersey - 16,929.50 acres
Southern New Jersey - 3,936.50 acres

The Atlantic City Press has an article about the NJFFS 2009 prescribed burning season here.

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