Spring wildfire season in NJ: updates and tidbits

Yes we had yet another day of enhanced fire weather concerns in NJ today. I was busy running around today so I don't know about any major fires in NJ (100 acres+), but will be sure to report back here if I should hear of any later.

To the best of my knowledge, light to moderate initial attack activity in New Jersey continues.

Hampton Gate Fire
I am hearing from my friends at Downstown Aero and the Section B10 (NJFFS) website (current NJ wildfire activity section*) that the Hampton Gate Fire has burned 205 acres and is still at 75 percent containment in a remote and inaccessible area of the Wharton State Forest in Tabernacle NJ. See also this updated thread on the wildland fire hotlist.

Brush Fires in Morris County New Jersey
The brush fires in Morris County New Jersey may be out, as reported by the Star Ledger. Speculation is that a passing freight train may have caused the fire.

Other Smaller Wildland Fires
The  Star Ledger referred to a small wildland fire in the Washington Township Area of Morris County on Sunday.

A 2.5 acre fire in Oakland in northern Bergen County on Monday where at least one of the Ag-Cats assigned to Division A made a drop, see this article from the Daily Record.

This past Sunday, my friends from Downstown Aero told me that the two Ag Cats in Division A (Alpha 3 & 4) had made multiple drops on a fire south of Andover NJ. I saw on the current NJ wildfire activity section* of the Section B10 (NJFFS) website that the location of these drops was in Warren County (Allamuchy) and that the fire was of an undetermined size.

I did manage to spend about 30 minutes listening to online scanner feed from New Jersey Forest Fire Service Division A. I may be wrong but it sounded like one of the Ag Cats (Alpha 4) made a drop on a fire at an unidentified location (at least I could not determine the location.

Downstown Aero Crop Services
And finally, last but by no means least. Read about Downstown Aero, their long service as a tanker contractor and their new Turbo Cat in this article on airtanker dot org.

*The current NJ wildfire activity section of the Section B10 website is updated every few days, so you may see different information from what I reported here when you access the site.