Update on April 24th wildfire activity in NJ and new starts today

I begin with a short video from the Star Ledger with footage of an Air Tractor 602 and two helicopters with buckets working the yesterday's wildfire in Beachwood, Berkeley Township. I believe, but am not certain, that this is footage of the Continental Wildfire.

Some of you may recall that I wrote last night about the Continental Wildfire, that fire burned 307 acres and is now 100 percent contained. As I was listening to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service As I was listening to online scanner feed from Division B of the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service, I was getting wind of other wildfires near the Continental Fire. I also heard some media reports about wildfires burning near the Continental Fire (NJFFS Section B7. I wrote about one smaller fire Toms River yesterday (7:00 PM) that was contained at three acres. 

Yes, there was a second wildfire in Berkeley Township yesterday, according to my friends at the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Section B10 website, the Crossroads Wildfire has burned 219 acres. No structures are threatened. As of 8:30 AM this morning, the fire was 80 percent contained.

Another probably smaller wildfire that I heard about last night was burning in another town not far from Berkeley Township. This article from NJ dot com discusses the two Berkeley Township Fires (Continental and Crossroads) and references other smaller wildfires that burned yesterday in Ocean County. 

I first learned of the "White Oak Fire last night from one of my friends from Downstown Aero. According to my friends at the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Section B10 website the White Oak Fire in Franklinville NJ (Gloucester County, Division C) has burned about 500 acres. My friends at Downstown Aero told me that the White Oak fire is just two or three miles of their Airport, that in burned in New Jersey Forest Fire Service Section C9.

I know from my friends at Downstown Aero that the two Air Tractor 602s (Bravo 1 and Charlie 1, 600 gallons each) each made multiple drops yesterday before arriving at the White Oaks Fire. Specifically, Bravo 1 made at least 20 drops (possibly more) while Charlie 1 made 14 drops. After Charlie 1 left Ocean County, he blew back south and made 9 drops on the White Oak Fire. Charlie 2 (Turbo-Cat, 400 gallons) made 9 drops on the White Oak fire.

Getting to today, by this time I think that you get an idea of what I have been doing. There is wildfire burning in Shamong Township in Wharton State Forest (NJFFS Section B1, started about 1 PM) -- the Springer Brook Fire. According to my friends at the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Section B10 website, this fire has burned about 50 acres but acreage burned is expected to increase with burn out operations. When my friends at Downstown Aero, they told me that Bravo 1 and Charlie 1 (Air Tractor 602s, 600 gallons) are working the fire. This confirms what I have been hearing on the online scanner feed from the Division B of the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service. They also confirmed me that the new start reported by ABC News 6 in Philadelphia (with video) is the Springer Brook Brook Fire ABCNews6 also reports on some of the other fires that burned yesterday in New Jersey. Another article summarizing some of yesterday's wildfire activity may be found on Lehigh Valley Live.

I want to close by acknowledging that through conversations with reliable friends and acquaintances last night and today I heard about small wildfires in eastern Pennsylvania, not far from the Deleware Water Gap and also on eastern Long Island. And there are other smaller wildfires as well in New Jersey, for example another reliable friend told me of what is probably a very small wildfire in Chester Township, New Jersey (Division A) with power lines down.

As I get more information about today's Springer Brook Fire, I'll provide updates in a later article.