Prescribed burns in New Jersey (2015)

I have to admit that with the recent cold weather that we have had in New Jersey it has been a little hard to believe that our spring fire season is coming up. And even if there was no snow, it was hard for me to imagine to prescribed burning in the frigid temperatures that we have experienced this winter in New Jersey. Even with the more normal (for us temperatures) in Northern New Jersey this week, a snow pack still lingers. In my case, the snow pack is minimal, a couple of inches, covering about one-half of my property. But north of me, the snow pack will be deeper. South of me, as you can see from the Snow Depth graphic from the National Snow Analyses from the U.S. National Weather Service’s National Operation Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center, there is no snow pack.

Obtained on March 13, 2015 from

NOHRSC Ntl Snow Analysis 

While I am hardly an expert in such things, I know that once the snow pack is gone the potential exists for the ground to dry out pretty quickly. And with that the start of the spring wildfire season.

In advance of the spring fire season here in New Jersey, prescribed burning is done. I suspect that the persistent snow pack through much of January into late February/early March has resulted in fewer prescribed burns. The lack of snow cover in central and southern New Jersey means that they are able to do prescribed burning. Unfortunately, I don’t quite know when prescribed burning started in the central and southern part of New Jersey (Sections B and C). However, thanks to my friends at the NJFFS Section B-10 website  I know that  there is prescribed burning going on today in the following areas in New Jersey (what you see when you access tPete's NJ Wildland Fire Page: Section B10
will differ depending on when you accessing their page):

NEW JERSEY FOREST FIRE SERVICE DIVISION B


• Section B2 — Burlington County, Washington Twp. Warton State Forest, 50 acres, grass

• Section B4 — Ocean County, Eagleswood Twp, Stafford WMA, 50 acres, grass
• Section B6 — Ocean County, Manchester Twp, Manchester WMA, 50 acres, grass
• Section B10, Monmouth County, Monmouth Battlefield, 203 acres, grass

NEW JERSEY FOREST FIRE SERVICE DIVISION C

• Section C3 — Cumberland County, Commercial and Downe Twp., Milleville and Buckstutem WMA, 90 acres, grass
• Section C4 — Cumberland County, Maurice Twp. Peasley WMA, 100 acres, grass

It is supposed to rain tonight into Saturday and possibly into early Sunday which probably means no prescribed burning anywhere in the State this weekend.