2022 NJ wildfire season: prescribed burns (Feb 26-28)

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) continues with their late winter/early spring prescribed burning season as weather conditions allow. As always, conducting scheduled prescribed burns is weather dependent and the schedule may change.

The NJFFS scheduled the following prescribed burns on February 26-27 (see this February 26th post on the NJFFS Facebook page):

Camden County 

• Winslow Township - Winslow Wildlife Management Area

Cumberland County

• Commercial Township - Millville Wildlife Management Area
• Downe Township - Millville Wildlife Management Area 
• Maurice River Township - Belleplain State Forest
• Maurice River Township - Peaslee Wildlife Management Area
• Vineland City - Municipal Property 

Gloucester County

• Monroe Township - Winslow Wildlife Management Area

Ocean County 

• Jackson Township - Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area
• Jackson Township - County Property 

Today, February 28th, the NJFFS is planning to do these prescribed burns:

Burlington County 

• Manchester Township - Brendan T Byrne State Forest

Camden County 

• Winslow Township - Winslow Wildlife Management Area 

Cumberland County

• Maurice River Township - Belleplain State Forest
• Maurice River Township - Peaslee Wildlife Management Area 

Ocean County 

• Berkeley Township - Double Trouble State Park
• Eagleswood Township - Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area
• Jackson Township - Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area
• Lacey Township - Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area
• Plumsted Township - Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area

All of these prescribed burns are in central and southern New Jersey

Croman Sikorsky helicopter fatal crash in Hawaii

Obtained on February 25th from Croman Corp's February 23rd Facebook Post

I am a day or so late in posting that on Tuesday, February 23rd a Croman Sikorsky S-61N helicopter on contract with the US Navy crashed at the Pacific Missile Range Facility while doing training exercises. All four occupants were killed. See this article on the Navy Times for a short write up about the crash. 

I would like to thank Bill Gabbert who wrote about this on his Fire Aviation site on February 23rd. I learned of the crash while reading Fire Aviation earlier this morning. Bill's write up is, as always excellent, and you will want to read his article for his in-depth coverage of the crash. According to Bill, Croman had contracts with the U.S. Forest Service in 2020 for five type 1 helicopters.

The deceased are:

• Daniel Lyle, 64, Chief Pilot
• Patrick Radar, 55, Pilot in Command
• Erika Tevez-Valdez, 42, Mechanic
• Matthew Haider, 44, Mechanic

I offer my heartfelt condolances and prayers to the family, colleagues at Croman, and all who loved Daniel, Patrick, Erika, and Matthew. May you rest in peace and fly and always fly in favorable winds.

2022 NJ wildfire season: two small brush fires (late Feb 2022)

Local fire companies and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service are always ready to go and fight brush fires, no matter how small. Two such brush fires occurred over the last few days, both were extinguished. In both cases, the local municipal fire department responded first with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service coming to the scene along with other nearby local fire companies. Kudos to the all who responded to these two brush fires, thank-you for your service and for keeping us safe.

On February 18th there was a seven-acre brush fire in Lebanon Township. The Lebanon Township Fire Department responded, they were assisted by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service with mutual aide from other nearby fire companies.

 

On February 20th, the Lakehurst Fire Department responded to a  two-acre fire with the assistance of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and mutual aide from other nearby fire companies.

2022 NJ wildfire season: prescribed burns (Feb 20-21)

Unfavorable weather over the last week here in New Jersey, e.g. windy days and snow/rain) meant that there was no prescribed burning for a few days. If weather conditions yesterday and today (February 20th and 21st) continue to be favorable for prescribed burns in New Jersey the New Jersey Forest Fire Service has a number of prescribed burns planned across the entire state:

Atlantic County 

• Galloway Township - Other State Gov Property 

Burlington County 

• Bass River Township - Private Property 
• Tabernacle Township - Wharton State Forest
• Tabernacle Township - Private Property 
• Manchester Township - Brendan T Byrne State Forest
• Medford Township - Private Property 
• Southampton Township - Other State Gov Property 
• Westampton Township - Rancocas State Park
• Woodland Township - Private Property 

Cape May County 

• Dennis Township - Belleplain State Forest
• Upper Township - Belleplain State Forest
• Upper Township - Private Property 
• Upper Township - Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area

Cumberland County 

• Maurice River Township - Peaslee Wildlife Management Area

Gloucester County 

• Franklin Township - White Oak Branch Wildlife Management Area (map, pdf)

Hunterdon County 

• Kingwood Township - Private Property 

Monmouth County 

• Manalapan Township - Monmouth Battlefield State Park

Morris County 

• Mendham Borough - Private Property 

Ocean County 

• Barnegat Township - County Property 
• Berkeley Township - Double Trouble State Park
• Jackson Township - Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area (map, pdf)
• Jackson Township - County Property
• Lacey Township - Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area (map, pdf)
• Plumsted Township - Private Property 
• Stafford Township - Private Property 
• Toms River Township - County Property 

Somerset County 

• Bernardsville Borough - Private Property 
• Bridgewater Township - County Property 

Wildland firefighting: engines

Over the years that I have been doing this blog on aerial wildland firefighting I have posted about mutual aid where for example a State Forest Service may send a crew and engine to help fight fires in a State in need of extra crew and engines to fight wildfires. Then there the engine crews who fight wildfires from their engines. I may be wrong but it is possible that I have not made a post about the various types of engines used by wildland firefighting crews. I found a nice video from the National Wildfire Coordinating Group discussing the different types of engines and other issues such as construction, training, maintenance, crewing an engine, how and where different engines are used, and advantages of different types of engines.

Direct link to video from The National Wildfire Coordinating Group on YouTube

2021 wildfire season crew videos: WZ Fire Crew

As I was looking for fire crew videos summarizing their 2021 fire season, I came across this video from the WZ Fire. From the about page of this video (go here), which states that all scenes in this video are in Minnesota, it seems to me that this fire crew is based in Minnesota. While I consider Minnesota to be a part of the midwest and a distance from New Jersey, they are a part of the Eastern Area Coordination Center (EACC) and that means something to me as New Jersey is part of the EACC as well. I enjoyed the video as I got to know a very little about this part of the United States, a pretty area. Allow about ten minutes to watch the video

Direct link to video on YouTube uploaded by Luke Macho

2022 winter prescribed (aka controlled) burns using helicopters and firefighters on the ground

Continuing with prescribed or controlled burns, I found myself thinking that helicopters are sometimes used in prescribed burns. I wanted to find a video to show you how an agency conducting prescribed burns uses helicopters in addition to wildland firefighters on the ground. I struck pay dirt with this June 2021 video from the Savannah River Site. In the video you will again learn about how this agency conducts prescribed burns and the planning that is involved. It seems that the wildland firefighters use torches in igniting carefully planned prescribed burns. Helicopters are used on prescribed burns on larger acreage. You will learn about the ping pong balls dropped by helicopters in a special device hanging from their belly to conduct prescribed burns.

Direct link to video from the Savannah River Site on YouTube

2022 NJ wildfire season: late winter and early spring prescribed burning season underway

 he late winter and early spring prescribed burning season has begun in New Jersey. See this February 9, 2022 press release from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for more information. The press release speaks of the importance of prescribed burning and their tentative plans, highlights are:

There are multiple benefits to prescribed burning, which is a safe, effective and efficient means of managing the buildup of forest fuels. Prescribed burns improve habitat for plants and animals, reduce the presence of damaging insects and ticks, and recycle nutrients into the soil. In addition, prescribed burning is an important part of the state’s carbon defense strategy. Allowing experts to choose the image intensity, timing and interval of fire across the landscape may help prevent a larger uncontrolled wildfire, which would contribute to significant carbon loss. ...

This year, the Forest Fire Service intends to treat 25,000 acres with prescribed fire. Meeting this goal will depend on favorable weather conditions. Most of the Forest Fire Service’s burns will occur on state-owned property such as state forests, parks and Wildlife Management Areas, but the Forest Fire Service also assists private landowners, nonprofit organizations, and county and municipal governments to meet their management objectives through prescribed burning.

As they have in past years, The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (njwildfire.org)  will announce planned prescribed burns on their NJFFS Facebook page. New this year is an online mapping tool where prescribed burns currently underway as well as those planned for the next five days are mapped, this online mapping tool from the NJFFS may be accessed at this page on NJwildfire.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has plans to conduct prescribed burning operations in the following areas on February 11, 2022. These prescribed burns are in central and southern New Jersey.

Burlington County 

• Shamong Township - Wharton State Forest
• Tabernacle Township - Wharton State Forest 
• Washington Township - Wharton State Forest 
• Woodland Township - Brendan T Byrne State Forest 

Cumberland County 

• Maurice River Township - Peaslee Wildlife Management Area 

Monmouth County 

• Manalapan Township - Monmouth Battlefield State Park 

Ocean County 

• Berkeley Township - Double Trouble State Park
• Lacey Township - Double Trouble State Park
• Lakewood Township - County & Municipal Property 
• Jackson Township - Colliers Mills Wildlife Management Area
• Manchester Township - Brendan T. Byrne State Forest 
• Manchester Township - Greenwood Forest Wildlife Management Area
• Manchester Township - Manchester Wildlife Management Area 

2022 wildfire season: Coulson Aviation in Chile with Dawn Blumberg

Coulson Aviation works in Chile over their summer, our winter in the United States. At this time of year, I am always interested in fire season in the southern hemisphere. I also try to keep a look out for female pilots in fire aviation. Coulson has video that addresses both points, a C-130 tanker working in Chile and one of her pilots, Dawn Blumberg. It is a very short video, just under a minute. I post it here to support Dawn Blumberg and all women in fire aviation. I wish Coulson's C-130, 132CG, and her crew and support staff a safe fire season in Chile. Dawn has been flying C-130's since 2007 with over 3,500 hours and has been fighting fires in the C-130 for four years.

Direct link to video by Coulson Aviation on YouTube

2022 winter prescribed (aka controlled) burns

In my wonderings over the last several days I have been reading about various States and agencies here in the United States conducted prescribed burns, sometimes referred to as controlled burns. Simply while the management and technique to conduct these prescribed burns will vary, these prescribed burns are well thought out and planned ahead of time to burn away fuels so that if a wildfire were to later occur it will hopefully be less severe. These burns are weather dependent, they will be conducted on days favorable for prescribed burns. 

Examples of recent planned prescribed burns, thanks to Mike Archer of Wildfire News of the Day for pointing me to these media articles referencing prescribed burns:

• California: two prescribed burns planned in San Bernardino National Forest, Desert Sun (February 2, 2022)
• Southwest Florida: importance or prescribed burns: WGCU NPR, (February 2, 2022)
• New Mexico: prescribed burn planned for Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico Fire Information, (February 3, 2022)
• North Carolina: prescribed burn planned in Croatan National Forest, WNCT9 (February 3, 2022)

I expect that there are other prescribed burns planned that I do not know about.

I found a nice video, thanks to my friends at the NJ Forest Fire Service Section B10 website, who shared this video from the Museum of Arts & Sciences where Rangers from the Florida Forest Service answer questions about fighting wildfires and prescribed burns. They reference the difference between fighting wildfires in Florida versus prescribed burns. You will hear fromPeter Scalco, Senior Forest Ranger and Will Raulson, Forest Area Service. Mrs Scalco and Raulson are with the Florida Forest Service. Allow about eleven minutes for the video. Remember that this video is about how the Florida Forest Service fights wildfires and conducts prescribed burns. What happens in your State may be different.

Direct link to video by the Museum of Arts & Sciences (Daytona, FL)

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2021 wildfire season: NWS Incident Meteorologists year in review

Thanks to the NWS Incident Meteorologists aka IMETs for doing a great job working a record 217 missions to help keep wildland firefighters on the ground and in the air safe. IMETs save lives.

We're looking back at busy #fireyear2021. It’s a true team effort across the National Weather Service to support IMETs, including administrative and technical support!

Included here are the top offices that either sent out IMETs, or hosted IMETs in their forecast area.... pic.twitter.com/45fPutwdHD

— NWS IMET Operations (@NWS_IMET_OPS) February 2, 2022

We're looking back at busy #fireyear2021. NWS Incident Meteorologists went on 217 missions (NEW RECORD), worked over 37,600 hours, and were dispatched from all NWS regions! pic.twitter.com/jVbo6aExRR

— NWS IMET Operations (@NWS_IMET_OPS) February 2, 2022

Suspected arsonist charged with setting wildfires in Ocean County, NJ

After a thorough investigation by the Ocean County (NJ) Prosecutor, an alleged arsonist accused of setting six fires in Ocean County NJ over eight months -- from May 16 2021 through Jan 21, 2022 was arrested on Monday, January 31st. A press release from the Ocean County Prosecutor may be found here. The fires were: Little Egg Harbor on May 16th (617 acres), Manchester and Lakewood on December 1, Little Egg Harbor on December 8, and Lakewood on January 21, 2022. There were no injuries. The alleged arsonist is charged with 25 counts of aggravated arson. Thanks to Mike Archer who shared this article from New Jersey Advance Media on the arrest of the alleged arsonist in his February 2nd Wildfire News of the Day Newsletter. I found another article on the Asbury Park Press (paywall) dated February 2nd. 

These charges are accusations, pending a trial in a court of law.