2020 New Jersey wildfire season (May 13th update)

It is mid-May and while I have no official word about the dates of the spring wildfire season in New Jersey, nor do I have any figures on the number of fires and acreage burned to date, this is around the time of year when the spring wildfire season ends here in New Jersey. I don't take the dates all that seriously, because all it takes is a period of very dry weather to change things. What I can say, and this is by no means "official" is that I understand that in many parts of New Jersey there was been rain every two to four days which may have put on things fire wise. I do know a little about rainfall in part of New Jersey (up north) because I record rainfall in a gage. Since the end of March, I have recorded some rain in my gage every two to four days.

I only know of one major wildfire in New Jersey since the beginning of April, that is the Split Ditch Fire that burned 1,516 acres in early April. I know of some smaller fires, including the Rock Face Fire that while 80 acres in size, made local news because it burned in difficult to access terrain in the Delaware Water Gap off of Interstate 80. I am pretty sure that there have been other smaller wildfire activity across the state of varying acreage.

While perhaps the spring wildfire season in New Jersey has not been as newsworthy as some past spring wildfire season in New Jersey, I am assured and thankful that the great crews of the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) along with mutual aid responders have been and continue to be ready to keep us safe in New Jersey. Thank-you all NJFFS wildland firefighters for always being ready to fight wildfires to keep us in New Jersey safe.