Monday, July 18, 2022

Abnormally dry in Northern New Jersey

 


This is the second week that the U.S. Drought Monitor has shown abnormally dry conditions in portions of Northern and Southern New Jersey. I know that in my corner of Northwest New Jersey we have had about one-half inch of rain since June 24th. Now I want to say up front that what there is no comparison to the extreme drought that many areas in the Western United States are experiencing. Still, there are things that we in New Jersey must consider until such time as we get some decent rainfall. To that end the New Jersey Forest Fire Service issued stage 2 fire restrictions for Northern New Jersey (Division A) effective June 14th.

In addition to the noted restrictions on campfires and agricultural burning, it is good idea to be careful with cigarette butts. I don't care if you smoke, but please be careful where and how you dispose of your cigarette butt. In addition, even though it is summer and not fall, it is a good idea not to park your car over dried leaves and needles and to be careful that there are not metal parts dragging under your vehicle.

Finally, I want to conclude this post by embedding a video from CBS New York (dated July 15th) where they had a nice three-minute report about the fire danger in Northern New Jersey. I liked that they did this report to educate us in New Jersey about the impact of our abnormally dry conditions on increased fire danger.


Direct link to video on YouTube from CBS New York


 

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