Video review of 2024 Wildfire Season in the Tri-State Area

Direct link to November 2024 video on News 12 Originals

I have already written about the 2024 wildfire season in New Jersey, the worst in history. 2024 was also a very bad wildfire year in New York City, and nearby counties in New York as well as in Connecticut.  Here are two posts that I have written on the 2024 wildfire season in New Jersey: (1) a November 2024 post summarizing the 2024 wildfire season where I did my best to summarize the major wildfires in New Jersey in 2024 using information from the NJ Forest Fire Service and various local media outlets , and (2) a February 2025 post providing an historical perspective going back to 2013 as well as wildfires by month in New Jersey in 2024 (this post was possible due to the good work of the NJ Forest Association and the NJ Forest Fire Service).

I was intrigued when I learned of the News 12 Originals video from my friends at the B10 New Jersey Wildfire Page. This video was posted on November 2025 with an original airdate in November 2024. I do get News 12 New Jersey but missed this report. While perhaps on the long side (21 minutes) for a blog post I liked the summary of wildfires in the Tri-State provided by News 12 reporters so I decided to share this video with you.

2025 wildfires in New Jersey: In a NJFFS press conference on April 23rd NJFFS Fire Chief, Bill Donnelly said that for 2025 through April 23rd, 662 wildfires have burned 16,572 acres. Two of these wildfires were over 1,000 acres: Jones Rd Fire in Ocean County, 15,300 acres and Danny's Fire in Cumberland County, 1,300 acres. I do not yet have any information on the number and size of wildfires that burned in New Jersey after April 23rd. 

Looking Back on New Jersey's 2024 Wildfire Season

 I follow the NJ Forest Association, they are a good group that advocates for all forests in New Jersey, see their about us page for more information on their mission, organization and objectives. One of the things they do is to do a monthly webinar on backyard forestry with seminars on a variety of issues affecting people who live in or near forests, perhaps owning some forest lands. Last January their webinar focused on forest fire risk and prevention, and sharing about the 2024 wildfire season in New Jersey with representatives from the NJ Forest Fire Service (NJFFS). Their 90 minute January webinar is on YouTube and may be found here. They start by discussing some history of the NJFFS and their organization. For those who are interested, the information on New Jersey's 2024 wildfire season that I am referring to in this article starts at about 22 minutes into the video and continues for about 25 minutes (57 minutes), if you watch the video you will get a lot more information. I am barely skimming the surface on the New Jersey's 2024 wildfire season.

Thanks to the NJ Forest Association's January 2025 webinar on forest fires in New Jersey, I had access to more detailed information on the 2024 wildfire season then I usually do. I thank you at the NJ Forest Association for presenting the January 2025 webinar and to the NJ Forest Fire Service presenters and staff who put the information in this video together. 

Using some of the information in the NJ Forestry Associations January webinar on forest fires in New Jersey I am to provide some new and updated information to the post that I made on November 11th, Asides from adding information for one fire and adding some clarification, I am not revising the acreage burned numbers, these numbers can be considered preliminary and in a few cases the NJFFS revised acreage burned later on with better mapping and the like. Note that I only have information on major fires, fires that burned at least 100 acres. 

Before moving onto some more detailed information on New Jersey's 2024 wildfire season, I want to briefly mention the organization of the NJFFS. As you can see from the map, there are three divisions, division A in northern NJ, division B in central NJ and Division C in southern NJ. See the NJFFS Organization page for a description of the management of these divisions. 

Obtained on February 6, 2024 from https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/fire/docs/adminboundaries.pdf

In 2024 there were 1,440 wildfires that burned 12,445 acres. If you are wondering how the 2024 wildfire season in New Jersey compares with prior NJ wildfire seasons, the NJFFS provided information on the number of NJ wildfires from 2013 to 2024. You will see that the 2024 wildfire season has the most wildfires.

• 2013: 990
• 2014: 924
• 2015: 1051
• 2016: 1053
• 2017: 636
• 2018: 629
• 2019: 737
• 2020: 1,033
• 2021: 946
• 2022: 1,175
• 2023: 1,193
• 2024: 1,440

The material presented by the NJFFS in the January webinar allowed me to break down the 2024 total acreage burned of 14,440 acres down into divisions:

• Division A: 544 wildfires burned 3,416 acres
• Division B: 410 wildfires burned 7,787 acres
• Division C: 486 wildfires burned 1,221 acres

I was interested in the information that the NJFFS provided on major fires (100 acres or more) in 2024. Please note that some of the numbers differ from what I presented in my  November 11th post on the 2024 fall wildfire season in New Jersey. This is because the exact number of acres burned can change after the fire is contained  because better mapping and other updates on the fire size were available.

• County Line Fire was started on April 24, burning 510 acres.
• Tea Time Hill Fire was started on July 4, burning 4.000 acres 
• Whip-poor-will Fire started on July 26, burned 1,167 acres
• Fishers Pit Fire started on September 9, burned 189 acres
• Industrial Parkway Fire started on October 26, burned 196 acres
• Halloween Fire started on October 31, burned 137 acres
• Craigmeur Lookout Fire started on October 31, burned 211 acres
• Shotgun Fire started on November 6, burned 350 acres
• Bethany Run Fire started on November 7, burned 360 acres
• Pheasant Run Fire started on November 7, burned 133 acres
• Cannonball 3 Fire started on November 8, burned 182 acres
• Jennings Creek Fire (NJ and NY) started on November 8, burned 2,283 acres in NJ

Thanks to this webinar, I can also provide NJFFS wildfire responses in 2024 by month:

• January: 34
• February: 89
• March: 229
• April: 228
• May: 89
• June: 208
• July: 110
• August: 86
• September: 168
• October: 507
• November: 392
• December: 84

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season

According to a post on X, formerly Twitter, the NJ Forest Fire Service responded to over 1,400 wildfires that burned more than 11,000 acres. Enjoy this short summary from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service of their 2024 wildfire season and what they do to keep us safe.

Happy Holidays from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service!

In 2024, the Forest Fire Service responded to over 1,400 wildfires burning in excess of 11,000 acres across the Garden State.

As we welcome the New Year, remember Smokey's message: “Only YOU can prevent wildfires.” pic.twitter.com/zqQKfAfIEi

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) December 22, 2024

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Bayville, Ocean County

I was having a conversation with some friends yesterday about the devastating fall wildfire season in New Jersey and I was telling them that to the best of my understanding that the NJ Forest Fire Service will report on social media about fires less than 100 acres where structures are threatened. So perhaps it was no coincidence that when I went to social media last night to check for reports from the NJ Forest Fire Service that I saw a report that an 11 acre wildfire that had threatened three structures in Bayville, Ocean County was contained on Sunday afternoon, December 8th. There were no evacuations and no structures were damaged. Ocean Gate Drive in Bayville was closed and is now reopened. The NJFFS first reported on this wildfire at about 8 AM on December 8th. The NJ Forest Fire Service will remain on scene to monitor the wildfire. Kudos to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service crews and mutual aid. Media reports on the wildfire may be found at Bayville Patch (Dec 9th).

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Bayville, Ocean County

At 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8, @NJDEPForestFire achieved 100% containment of a 11-acre wildfire burning in the area of Ocean Gate Drive and Louis Ave in Bayville, Ocean County.

SIZE & CONTAINMENT
🔥 11 acres
🔥 100% contained pic.twitter.com/ozOoiycLuN

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) December 8, 2024

Reflections on 2024 NJ Fall Wildfire Season

As I write this, it is four days past the rain event in New Jersey and environs that resulted in the New Jersey Forest Fire Service lowering the fire danger and lifting restrictions. However, I am going to remain alert and be aware that as it has been dry of late, that the fire danger may tick up again. 

🔥 Fire Restrictions Lifted Statewide

Following substantial rainfall overnight, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service has lifted fire restrictions statewide.

Statewide Fire Danger:
🔗 View current New Jersey fire danger levels: https://t.co/wHxWuLVR6m pic.twitter.com/BT5wvV0Nsa

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 21, 2024

In reporting on the major wildfires in New Jersey during this fall wildfire season, be assured that I am aware of the hundreds of smaller wildfires that I do not know about. Between the major wildfires that I wrote about and these smaller wildfires in New Jersey, I know that the crews of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service worked hard. Kudos to all the crews of the NJFFS and structure firefighters for your hard work in keeping us safe. At the suggestion of a couple of friends of mine, I have a post summarizing the 2024 New Jersey fall wildfire season, I will edit and revise as appropriate and there is a link to that post on the upper right side of the main page on the "web version" of my blog.

In doing my best to report on what I knew about this unprecedented fall wildfire season in New Jersey and environs, I admit that I did not give equal time to wildfires in adjoining and near by states. I did live in Manhattan over 45 years ago, and while I was not aware of brush fires in New York City at that time, I am aware of the large number of brush fires in New York City this fall. In the time that I have been writing this blog I don't recall seeing such a large number of brush fires in New York City. I applaud the NYC firefighters for working and containing these fires and as far as I know no houses were impacted by these brush fires. I am also aware of the wildfires that  broke out in New England, Long Island New York, and Pennsylvania. I know that there are States that I am not listing here.

I was touched by the severity of this fall wildfire season in New Jersey and elsewhere in the northeastern United States in ways that are hard to explain in words. Trust me on this. 

As regular readers know, during the recent weeks of this fall wildfire season in New Jersey, I was sometimes posting two or three times a day. While under normal circumstances I won't be posting with that frequency, I will do my best to stay aware of major wildfires burning in New Jersey and adjoining regions and will increase my posting as appropriate. 

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Highlights of Tri-State Wildfires & Protecting Your Home

Thanks to my friends at the B10 New Jersey Wildfire Page for sharing this video from News 12 on "Tri-State Wildfires, Are you at risk and what can be done." I am not quite sure when this report aired, probably before our recent rains that fell on November 21st and 22nd? You will see some footage of recent wildfires in New Jersey, and adjoining areas off New York as well as Connecticut along with some tips on fire safety in your house or apartment. Even though we had two days of rains that have helped the surface fires within containment lines, we are still in a drought and once things dry out the wildfire danger will escalate. Allow a little over 20 minutes to watch the video

Direct link to video from News 12 on YouTube

Preparing your home for Wildfires

I downloaded the following Firewise USA file on preparing your home for wildfires from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service's prevention publications page. Their page for landscaping plants that are fire resistant and can grow in New Jersey may be found here, it is a good source of information.

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Happy to See Rain

I am seeing strange drops from the sky and enjoying every minute. Strange drops from the sky aka RAIN! 

I come to you today about 40 hours after it started raining in my neck of the woods in northwestern New Jersey. I know that wildfires in northern areas of New Jersey and adjoining Pennsylvania and New York that wildfires that are still being monitored by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and firefighting agencies in PA and NY have benefited from the rains and snow fall over the last 36 hours. As I write this, more rain and snow is expected today. 

I took advantage of yesterday’s rain and took a day off from my blog, the first in a couple of weeks, after doing my best to follow and report on the 2024 New Jersey Fall Wildfire Season. I know enough to know while this rain and snowfall may make a dent in our drought warning it is not enough to remove the drought warnings in New Jersey. I also know that any amount of rain can help to put out any surface fires within containment lines of wildfires that have burned in New Jersey this fall.

The wildfire that comes to mind as  I write this is the Jennings Creek Wildfire that burned around 5,000 acres in Passaic County NJ and Orange County NY. I was curious to know the amount of precipitation (rain and snow) that fell over the Jennings Creek Wildfire so I went to the NWS Weather Forecast Office, New York New York that covers northeastern NJ, New York City, Long Island and some of the lower hudson valley in New York including Orange County. I found their liquid equivalent (includes rainfall and the liquid equivalent of snow fall) in a post on their account on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) shown below. 

Check out snowfall and liquid equivalent reports here:https://t.co/U855D1ezMFhttps://t.co/XLMUQhDUNv

— NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) November 22, 2024

You should be able to where you should be able to access the first link “11_22_rainfall_pns.pdf” which is the statement with liquid equivalents. You will see two figures for Warwick in Orange County New York of 1.84 inches and 2.30 inches. Looking at the data for Passaic County, I did see a report in the immediate vicinity of this wildfire, but if the reports for Ringwood and West Milford omitted northern Passaic County are any indication than it stands to reason that the fire area in New Jersey may have seen over 1.5 inches of liquid equivalent. This will certainly help to extinguish the surface fire burning within the containment lines. In addition, the rain and snow fall has wetted down leaves, twigs, needles and other detritus that might spark a wildfire. 

While I am very grateful for the rain and snow that we have had I am concerned about what might happen if we again go into a period of no or limited precipitation. While I believe that wildfires might be less likely to happen in the winter, they can happen.

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Country Club Wildfire, Ocean County (Final Report)

For my early reports on the Country Club Wildfire see my November 18th post where I made four reports on this fire. In a report on the X platform at 9:30 AM on November 20th, formerly known as Twitter, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) issued their final incident update for the Country Club Wildfire that burned 35 acres in Lakewood, Ocean County. The fire is at 100% containment and local roads are reopened. Crews from the NJFFS will continue to remain on the scene of the fire to monitor the fire and improve containment lines. Thanks to the crews of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for their good work in containing this fire.

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Country Club Wildfire - Lakewood, Ocean County

At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 20, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service achieved 100% containment of a 35-acre wildfire burning in the area of Pine Park and the Lakewood Country Club in Lakewood, Ocean County. pic.twitter.com/uj3u9k8K9T

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 20, 2024

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Big Rusty Wildfire, Burlington County (Final Report)

I wrote about the Big Rusty Wildfire that burned 40 acres in Hainesport, Burlington County in this November 18th post (with updates on November 19th). The New Jersey Forest Fire Service just released their final incident update on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) for the Big Rusty Fire at 9:30 AM on November 20th. The fire is now 100 percent contained thanks to the good work of the crews of New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS). All roads that were closed earlier are now reopened. Crews from the NJFFS will remain on scene to monitor this fire and improve containment lines. The cause of this fire is still under investigation.

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Big Rusty Wildfire - Hainesport, Burlington County

At 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 20, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service achieved 100% containment of a 40-acre wildfire burning in the area of Bancroft Lane and Cove Court in Hainesport, Burlington County. pic.twitter.com/za4g5GWfNX

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 20, 2024

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Big Rusty Wildfire, Burlington County (Initial Post)

November 19th, 6:30 PM update

The only change in the 6:30 PM update from the NJ Forest Fire Service on the X platform is that containment of the  40 acre Big Rusty Wildfire has increased to 75 percent. Crews and engines from the NJ Forest Fire Service remain on scene. Scroll down for earlier updates.

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Big Rusty Wildfire - Hainesport, Burlington County@NJDEPForestFire has made substantial progress containing a wildfire burning in the area of Bancroft Lane and Cove Court in Hainesport, Burlington County.

SIZE & CONTAINMENT
🔥 40 acres
🔥 75% contained pic.twitter.com/am76XxpRqd

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 19, 2024

November 19th, 8:30 AM

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is making progress on the Big Rusty Fire that is burning in Hainesport, Burlington County. According to their 8:30 AM post on the X platform the acreage burned remains at 40 acres and containment has increased to 50 percent. All roads that were closed last night are now reopened and no structures are threatened. Crews and engines from the NJ Forest Fire Service remain on scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Scroll down for earlier updates.

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Big Rusty Wildfire - Hainesport, Burlington County@NJDEPForestFire continues to make progress containing a wildfire burning in the area of Bancroft Lane and Cove Court in Hainesport, Burlington County.

SIZE & CONTAINMENT
🔥 40 acres
🔥 50% contained pic.twitter.com/ey2olabZML

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 19, 2024

November 18th, 9 PM

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service issued an update on this fire at about 8:30 PM on their page on the X platform that I am sharing here in hopes that all can see it. Anyway, the Big Rusty Wildfire has burned 40 acres and is 20 percent contained. No structures are threatened down from 20 earlier this evening. The following local roads in Hainesport, Ocean County are closed: Bancroft Lane, Cove Court and Wharton Place. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Big Rusty Wildfire - Hainesport, Burlington County

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is making progress containing a wildfire burning in the area of Bancroft Lane and Cove Court in Hainesport, Burlington County.

SIZE & CONTAINMENT
🔥 40 acres
🔥 20% contained pic.twitter.com/7xJoMoAIqN

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 19, 2024

November 18th, 7 PM

According to a 6 PM post by the NJ Forest Fire Service on X formerly known as Twitter (shared below), a multi-acre wildfire in Hainesport, Burlington County. Twenty structures are threatened. For those of you who are locals, the wildfire is burning near Bancroft Land and Cove Court in Hainesport. The fire is not contained. The NJ Forest Fire Service is on the scene with wildland firefighters and engines.

WILDFIRE ALERT: Hainesport, Burlington County

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service on on scene of a wildfire burning in the area of Bancroft Lane and Cove Court in Hainesport, Burlington County.

SIZE & CONTAINMENT
🔥 Multi-acre
🔥 0% contained pic.twitter.com/Jr15Ecox1R

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 18, 2024

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Country Club Wildfire, Ocean County (Initial Post)

November 19th, 6:30 PM

The NJ Forest Fire Service just released their latest update on their X platform account for the Country Club Wildfire that is currently burning in Lakewood, Ocean County. The only changes are that containment has increased to 75 percent and Clearstream Road has reopened. NJ Forest Fire Service crews, engines and bulldozers remain at the fire. Scroll down for earlier updates.

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Country Club Wildfire - Lakewood, Ocean County@NJDEPForestFire has made substantial progress containing a wildfire burning in the area of Pine Park and the Lakewood Country Club in Lakewood, Ocean County.

SIZE & CONTAINMENT
🔥 35 acres
🔥 75% contained pic.twitter.com/9LdN5HUhH3

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 19, 2024

November 19th, 8:30 AM

NJ Forest Fire Service crews have made progress fighting the Country Club Wildfire in Lakewood, Ocean County. In their 9 AM update on the X platform, they posted that acreage burned has increased very slightly to 35 acres burned, up from 33 acres last night. They have achieved 50 percent containment. Clearstream Road in Lakewood remains closed. No structures are threatened. NJ Forest Fire Service crews, engines and bulldozers remain at the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Scroll down for earlier updates.

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Country Club Wildfire - Lakewood, Ocean County@NJDEPForestFire continues to make progress containing a wildfire burning in the area of Pine Park and the Lakewood Country Club in Lakewood, Ocean County.

SIZE & CONTAINMENT
🔥 35 acres
🔥 50% contained pic.twitter.com/ZyG3UveBI0

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 19, 2024

November 18th, 9 PM

The Country Club fire has burned  33 acres, is 20 percent contained and no structures are threatened.  It is burning near the Pine Park area and the Lakewood Country Club. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has ground crews, engines, and a bulldozer on the scene. Clearstream Road in Lakewood remains closed. Note, I am going to try embedding a post from the NJ Forest Fire Service's account on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) in hopes that all will be able to see it. 

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Country Club Wildfire - Lakewood, Ocean County

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is making progress containing a wildfire burning in the area of Pine Park and the Lakewood Country Club in Lakewood, Ocean County.

SIZE & CONTAINMENT
🔥 33 acres
🔥 20% contained pic.twitter.com/vQc84T0pbx

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 19, 2024

November 18th, 4 PM

According to the NJ Forest Fire Service update on the X platform formerly known as Twitter (shared at about 3 PM on November 18th), the Country Club Wildfire has burned 30 acres in Lakewood in Ocean County and is not contained. Six structures on Seminole Drive are threatened. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is on the scene with wildland firefighters and engines. In addition, a New Jersey Forest Fire Service helicopter is on scene for observation. For those of you familiar with the area, Clearstream Road is closed between Brewers Bridge and Hope Chapel Road. The cause of the fire is under investigation. I think but am not sure that this wildfire was detected earlier on November 18th.

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Country Club Wildfire - Lakewood, Ocean County

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is working to contain a wildfire burning in the area of Pine Park and the Lakewood Country Club in Lakewood, Ocean County.

SIZE & CONTAINMENT
🔥 30 acres
🔥 0% contained pic.twitter.com/lc7CnBDc1C

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 18, 2024

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire - Voluntary evacuations in Orange County NY

November 18th

Direct link to video from Eyewitness News ABC7NY

One of the first things I did this morning was to go the Town of Warwick's (NY) Facebook page. In an update posted in the early evening of November 17th on the Town of Warwick Facebook page they say that the state of emergency is extended one more day at least through November 18th, schools are closed, local roads remain closed and voluntary evacuations remain in place for November 18th. The local middle school is an evacuation site. The voluntary evacuations are in place so that firefighting apparatus can easily access the areas that they need to in order to contain the fire. No homes are damaged and no homes are currently threatened

November 17th

Direct link to video from CBS New York on YouTube

On the night of November 16th, the Jennings Creek fire at least came close to jumping containment lines in Orange County New York causing voluntary evacuations of more than 100 homes. The video I embedded above appears to be from morning news on November 17th.

The good news is that according to the Town of Warwick's morning update on Facebook that I share below  efforts to protect structures last night in what Warwick officials are calling the Sterling Forest Fire were successful and no structures are currently threatened.

Earlier updates on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 15th & 16th
• November 14th
• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 10th
• November 9th

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire Passaic (NJ) and Orange (NY) Counties: November 16th update

 Here are links to my other posts on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 14th
• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 10th
• November 9th

November 16th update

I wrote yesterday (scroll down the page) that the Jennings Creek Wildfire burned 2,283 acres in New Jersey and reached 90 percent containment in New Jersey. I am interested in acreage burned and containment for the New York side of the wildfire. The Mid Hudson News in a November 16th article reported that a total of 4.700 acres have burned, I assume they mean across New York and New Jersey. Both PIX11 and NJ Advance Media (this is a gifted article good until Nov 23rd) are reporting that the wildfire is 90 percent contained on the New Jersey side and about 65 percent contained in New York on the New York side. NJ Advance Media reports that 2,400 acres have burned in New York, agreeing with what the Mid Hudson News reported. I point out that while I think that these three media sources got their numbers from press conferences by wildfire officials in both states, I myself have not had any access to these press conferences or other means of official information from NY officials in charge of fighting the wildfire. But I am comfortable enough with the reporting of the three media outlets to write this post. 

You may want to take some time read the articles from NJ Advance Media and the Mid Hudson News, both have photo galleries. The Mid Hudson News article talks about the efforts of fire fighters from around the region as well as wildland firefighters from Montana and Colorado, they also discuss how the fire was fought in New York. The New Jersey Advance Media article discusses today's red flag warning for all of New Jersey and the lower Hudson Valley of New York from 7 AM on November 16th to 6 PM on the 16th, and that even when the fire is fully contained the fire will continue to burn until there is significant precipitation and that there will be smoke.

November 15th update

Direct link to video from CBS New York on YouTube

With 75 percent containment of the Jennings Creek Wildfire in NJ (see my November 14th for more information) and the ongoing efforts of the crews in New Jersey and New York, progress has been made in fighting this wildfire. I don't have current information on containment of the portion burning in New York, but I know that there is some containment on the New York portion of the wildfire. I know from media reports that burn out operations are being conducted as a part of the strategy to control the fire. According to this wildfire glossary from Inciweb, a burn out is "setting fire inside a control line to widen it or consume fuel between the edge of the fire and the control line" and a control line is "all built or natural fire barriers and treated fire edge used to control a fire."  I understand from media reports that there were two Chinook helicopters capable of dropping 6,000 gallons of water working this fire yesterday.  If you watch the video I embedded above you will hear one of the NY wildland firefighters discuss this strategy.

Thanks to some wildland firefighters on social media. I learned about an article on NorthJersey.com about the science of fighting wildfires and how this is being used on the Jennings Creek Wildfire, there are also a couple of photo galleries. Go here to read the article

I found a video that I thought you might enjoy footage of a Chinook helicopter flying over this wildfire along with footage of the wildfire, I embed this video below for your enjoyment.

Direct link to video by Michael J Desk of FreedomNewsTV-NYC

I also find a nice video of a reporter that was embedded with the wildland firefighters on Thursday. I really enjoyed this video giving me an inside look at the conditions that our wildland firefighters faced fighting the Jennings Creek Wildfire. I had to edit this part of the post because the video I originally shared is no longer available. Fortunately I found what appears to be the same video on CBS Mornings YouTube Page and I hope that the link and the embedded code to display the video continues to be available.

Direct link  to video from CBS Mornings on YouTube 

Kudos to all the wildland firefighters from NJ and NY and all the local fire companies who have been working this fire. I have a huge amount of respect for all of you and I am keeping you in my prayers. 

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service posted their final update for the Jennings Creek Fire at 1:15 PM on November 15th. The wildfire burned 2,283 acres in New Jersey and is 90 percent contained. No structures are threatened and there were no evacuations. Earlier their were 2 residences threatened and 8 structures in the Long Pond Ironworks Historic District. Local road closures will continue until November 16th. Trails in the vicinity of the wildfire remain closed. New Jersey Forest Fire crews will remain on the scene of the wildfire for the next several days to shore up containment lines and address any concerns. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service remains in unified command with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. If significant developments occur on the New Jersey side of this wildfire the NJ Forest Fire Service will post updates an their social media accounts. At the time I write this, I have no new information on the status of the New York side of the fire. I assume that they are continuing to do burn out operations. Here is the direct link to the final update for this wildfire by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service on Facebook that I have shared below.

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire Passaic (NJ) and Orange (NY) Counties: Update #3

For my earlier reports on the Jennings Creek Wildfire see these posts:

• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 10th
• November 9th

November 14th update

Direct link to video from NJ Spotlight News on YouTube

Thanks to my friends at the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page for sharing this video on their webpage this morning. In watching this short video update on the Jennings Creek Wildfire uploaded on November 13th, I see that they too mention that the New York side of the wildfire has burned 2,100 acres. This confirms what I read in a NJ Advance Media (updated at 7 PM on November 13th) where they also mention that the wildfire has burned 2,100 acres in New York. In the 7:10 PM update I wrote on my November 12th & 13th update on the Jennings Creek Wildfire, I referred to the 7 PM update that the NJ Forest Fire Service posted on Facebook reporting that the NJ side of the wildfire has burned 2,283 acres. Adding these two figures together we arrive at total acreage burned of 4,383 acres. Finally, I went to the Mid Hudson News that covers the Hudson Valley region of New York where the Jennings Creek is burning where I found a nice photo story of the Jennings Creek Fire including three videos that include some footage of helicopter drops. 

I found a second article on the Mid Hudson News, dated on the afternoon of November 14th with an update on the operations on the New York side of the fire. News 12 New Jersey has an article with a video dated November 14th with updates on the New Jersey and the New York side of the wildfire, go here to read the article.

In this evenings update on Facebook from the NJ Forest Fire Service (shared below) acreage burned remains at 2,283 acres and the wildfire is 75 percent contained in New Jersey. There are no structures in New Jersey threatened, down from 2 structures threatened yesterday. Local road closures remain as do hiking trail closures in the wildfire vicinity. I have no specific information on the portion of the wildfire burning in New York at this time, no containment information and no mention of acreage burned on the NY side today, and I am not sure about the status of any threatened structures.

All my other posts on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 15th & 16th 
• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 10th
• November 9th

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire Passaic (NJ) and Orange (NY) Counties: Update #2

For my earlier reports on the Jennings Creek Wildfire see these posts:

• November 11th
• November 10th
• November 9th

November 13th, 7:10 PM

Scroll down to see my early updates from this morning and the evening of November 12th.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any local media who covered today's press conference with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. I am disappointed because I would of liked to share it with you. Anyway, the NJ Forest Fire Service reports in tonight's update that acreage burned in New Jersey remains at 2,283 acres, acreage burned in New York is not available from the sources I have access to. I just found an article on NJ Advance Media (updated at 7 PM on November 13th), they are reporting that the NY side of the wildfire has burned 2,100 acres, I am mentioning this figure because in reading the updated article, it sounded like the reporters were at today's joint press conference. Containment fire-wide in New Jersey and New York has increased to fifty percent. Local road closures continue as to hiking trail closures. Threatened structures in New Jersey has decreased to two residential structures, down from ten. The number of any structures threatened on the New York side is not available from my sources. I forgot to mention yesterday that two New Jersey firefighters were injured one with smoke inhalation who was treated at a hospital and the other with an injury that was treated on site and he returned to duty. Direct link to Facebook post from the NJ Forest Fire Service with this evening's update shown below.

November 13th, 11:10 AM

Scroll down to see my update from the evening of November 12th.

No changes in the status of the Jennings Creek from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. Containment over the entire wildfire area in NJ and NY is at 30 percent. Acreage burned in New Jersey remains at 2,283 acres, information from the NY side of the wildfire is not available. Local road closures continue as do closures of hiking trails near the wildfire. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation will host a press conference at 12 PM today. I do not think it will be streamed, but I will look at local media for videos of the press conference and if I find any I will post them in a new post this evening. Direct link to this morning's update from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service shown below.

November 12th, 6:45 PM

I watched a video of the press conference the given by the NJ Forest Fire Service and local officials on the Jennings Creek Fire. I took some notes.  Due to the winds from today's red flag conditions, they NJFFS did not conduct any burn out operations, but they do have boots on the ground building line. The fire is burning in a very remote, rock, difficult to access "wilderness area". There has been progress made by NJ crews in suppressing the fire. Forty-eight apparatus from 5 counties are assisting in the fire. NJ did surveillance of the fire in the air, satellite imagery, and boots on the ground, 2,283 acres have burned in NJ, they did not have numbers for NY at the time of the press conference. You might want to check out the video of the press conference from Fox5NY (embedded below), allow about 12 minutes for the video

I also watched a 17 minute video of a press conference by NY Governor Kathy Hochul and NY officials discussing the NY side of the Jennings Creek Fire. 

Direct link to video from CBS New York on YouTube

Moving on to this evenings update from the NJ Forest Fire Service. As a result of better mapping of the fire from surveillance has resulted in arriving at  2,283 acres burned in the New Jersey side (Passaic County) of the Jennings Creek Wildfire. I heard this in this afternoon's press conference. Acreage burned in the New York side (Orange County) of the wildfire is not available. Over the whole Jennings Creek Wildfire (NJ & NY), there is 30 percent containment, up from 20 percent. Two residential structures in New Jersey are threatened and eight structures in the Long Pond Ironworks Historic District are threatened, there are no evacuations. One local road is closed and hiking trails in the vicinity of the wildfire are closed. The NJ Forest Fire Service has a helicopter with a 350 gallon bucket. I think but am not certain that New York has four helicopters, I am not certain of the size of the buckets. Direct link to Facebook post from the NJ Forest Fire Service with this evening's update shown below

All my updates on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 15th & 16th
• November 14th
• November 12th & 13th
• November 10th
• November 9th

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire Passaic (NJ) and Orange (NY) Counties: Line of Duty Death

A young man, 18-year old Dariel Vasquez, was killed by a fallen tree on Saturday will fighting the Jennings Creek Fire on the New York side of the wildfire in Sterling Forest. The PIX 11 report says that he is still a high school senior and played baseball. However, I saw another report that says that he has graduated from high school. In any event, this is very sad. A young man just getting started is dead while working to save others. His family organized a GoFundMe page in his memory raising over $70,000 in a few hours, donations are disabled as I write this. For more information see this report from PIX 11 New York.

RIP Dariel, my prayers go out to your family, friends and all who love you.

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire Passaic (NJ) and Orange (NY) Counties: Update #1

For my earlier reports on the Jennings Creek Wildfire see these posts:

• November 10th
• November 9th

November 12, 9 AM

No changes in the numbers for the Jennings Creek Wildfire from the NJ Forest Fire Service's morning update on Facebook (shared below). As of 9 AM the Jennings Creek Wildfire has burned 3,500 acres and is 20 percent contained. In response to questions in their morning update on Facebook about the acres burned by the Jennings Creek Wildfire, the NJ Forest Fire Service said 

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service anticipates that the Jennings Creek Wildfire will grow to at least 5,000 acres before reaching 100% containment. However, the most recent mapping conducted by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service indicates the fire currently spans 3,500 acres in both New Jersey and New York. Rainfall slowed the fire’s growth overnight from Sunday, Nov. 10, into Monday, Nov. 11. As forest fuels dry out and the main body of the fire continues to spread, and the Forest Fire Service conducts burnout operations to aid containment, the fire’s size is expected to increase.

Red Flag Warnings are in effect for the fire area, Orange County NY and Passaic County NJ until 6 PM on November 12th. Road and trail closures continue and 10 structures are threatened in New Jersey, 2 are residences. I do not know if the 14 structures 0n the NY side of the wildfire remain threatened. Helicopters with buckets continue to work the fire as long as winds today will allow. 

November 11, 7 PM

You may want to go to my November 10th post on this wildfire where I made three entries with November 10th updates and a fourth entry for the November 11th morning update

Direct link to video from CBS New York on YouTube

Before I discuss this evenings update from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, I want to comment that I listened to two videos of two press conferences with officials overseeing this fire, both are from CBS New York, an 18 minute video of a press conference with NY officials and an 11 minute video with NJ officials, both occurred today, November 11th. I noted that the NY official said that they had done aerial reconnaissance this morning mapping the fire at 5,000 acres in both states. The NJ official had not yet discussed the aerial reconnaissance and could not address the question of the New York official saying the wildfire had burned 5,000 acres, he was sticking to the 3,000 acre figure. Note that the media is reporting the 5,000 acres burned figure. The NJ official said that because of difficulty accessing the rough terrain where the fire is burning that they were not sure where the fire started, this is different from what I reported in my 7 PM  update. I will speculate is that it is still too early since the fire started to know these details for sure. In following wildfires for years, I do know that fire size can vary as they get better mapping and the like. As they say, more will be revealed.

Looking at the 7PM update from the NJ Forest Fire Service on Facebook (embedded below) at least 3,500 acres have burned (up from 3,000 acres earlier this morning) and containment has increased to 20 percent. Ten structures in New Jersey are threatened with no evacuations. There are local road closures. I am uncertain about the status 14 threatened structures in New York referred to in earlier updates. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Forest Protection and Fire Management are in unified command, meaning that both states work together and coordinate their efforts. There are a few helicopters with buckets, one from New Jersey with a 350 gallon bucket, working this fire in support of the crews on the ground. Local fire departments from both states are also onsite.

All my other posts on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 15th & 16th
• November 14th
• November 12th &13th
• November 10th
• November 9th

Summary of 2024 New Jersey Fall Wildfire Season

As many of you know the fall of 2024 has been the worst wildfire season New Jersey has seen in over one hundred years. According to a November 10th press conference by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service that I watched on the evening of November 10th, there were 537 wildfires in New Jersey in October burning 4,500 acres. This video is an update on the Jennings Creek Wildfire but part way through the video they mention the October numbers. 

The idea behind this blog entry is to have a summary of the 2024 NJ Fall Wildfire Season that is more permanent that I can highlight on the right side of the main page of my blog and update as appropriate. I am going to list the wildfires that I know about from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service's Facebook page. Unless otherwise noted, the NJ Forest Fire issued a final incident report on the wildfire and will continue to monitor each wildfire. There are a lot of smaller wildfires that burned in New Jersey that I do not know about. The links for each fire, should lead to the last post I made on this fire which refers to the NJFFS final incident report for that wildfire. For wildfires I add after the date of my initial post (November 11, 2024) I will reference containment and the date of my final post. The figures on acreage burned are the latest figures that I was able to obtain from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and may be preliminary figures; the final figures on acreage burned may change with better mapping and the like.

I only recently learned that the embed code provided by Facebook that I use to share updates from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service's Facebook page does not work on cell phones. But the posts with Facebook embed code does work on my computer and tablet. I have edited the posts that I link to below to include a direct link to the appropriate update from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service on Facebook. Unfortunately, it is possible that these link will not display correctly if you do not have a Facebook account. 

• Tea Time Hill Wildfire, Wharton State Forest, Tabernacle Township, Burlington County, 4,300 acres. Started by fireworks on July 4th. In mid November this wildfire is still burning, mostly underground and the NJ Forest Fire Service continues to monitor the wildfire, see this article on NJ Advance Media for more information.
• Whip-Poor-Will Fire, WarrenGrove Air-to-Ground Range, Bass River Township, 1,167 acres
• Fishers Pit Wildfire, Berkley Township, Ocean County, 189 acres
• Tamarac Wildfire, Medford Township, Burlington County, 30 acres
• Brendon T. Byrne State Forest, Pemberton Township, Burlington County, 35 acres
• Microwave Wildfire, Rockaway Township, Morris County, 77 acres
• Industrial Parkway Wildfire, Livingston, Essex County, 192 acres
• Evesham Township, Burlington County, 40 acres. According to a November 14th report on Fox 29 Philadelphia,  a teenager is under investigation for starting this fire and perhaps others in the area.
• Halloween Wildfire, Evesham Township, Burlington County, 137 acres
• Craigmeur Lookout Wildfire, Morris County, 202 acres
• Wharton State Forest, Waterford Township, Camden County, 45 acres
• Bethany Run Wildfire, Burlington and Camden Counties,  360 acres
• Shotgun Wildfire, Jackson Township, Ocean County, 350 acres
• Pheasant Run Wildfire, Glassboro Wildlife Management Area, 133 acres. Smoke from the Pheasant Run Wildfire set off smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in Glassboro, NJ the weekend of Nov 9th and 10th see this NJ Advance Media article.
• Englewood Cliffs, Bergen County, 39 acres
• Cannonball 3 Wildfire, Pompton Lakes, Passaic County, 181 acres
• Jennings Creek Wildfire, Passaic County NJ and Orange County NY, on November 15th 2,283 acres burned in NJ and 90% containment was achieved on the NJ side of the wildfire. In New York media reports that 2,400 acres have burned with 65% containment. The wildfire at least came close to jumping a containment line in Orange County NY on the night of November 17th necessitating over 100 voluntary evacuations. There was one line of duty death and two firefighters had minor injuries.
• Country Club Wildfire, Lakewood, Ocean County, 35 acres, 100% containment on November 20th
• Big Rusty Wildfire, Hainesport, Burlington County 40 acres, 100% containment on November 20th

 

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Jennings Creek Wildfire, Passaic County NJ & Orange County NY: Fatality and Update

My other posts on the Jennings Creek Wildfire

• November 17th
• November 15th & 16th
• November 14th
• November 12th & 13th
• November 11th
• November 9th

November 11, 10:30 AM

The numbers on the Jennings Creek Wildfire are unchanged from the evening of November 10th; 3,000 acres have burned, the fire is at 10 percent containment and twenty-five structures are threatened. Some rain fell on this fire last night, not enough to extinguish the fire but the showers did provide a much needed rest for some of the wildland firefighters working this fire, crews are back on the fire today. A helicopter with a 350 gallon bucket will be working the fire today. Scroll down to see yesterday's updates and a video of yesterday's press conference. Direct link to NJFFS Facebook post shown below.

November 10th, 7:00 PM

Direct link to video from CBS 2 New York on YouTube

The Jennings Creek Fire has burned 3,000 acres in Orange County, New York and Passaic County, New Jersey. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New York Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Forest Protection and Fire Management are in unified command on this wildfire. Currently the wildfire is at 10 percent containment The wildfire started in New York on Saturday and the north wind blew the fire into New Jersey into a difficult to access area. Structure protection is ongoing. There are no evacuations at this time in either New York or New Jersey. The video from LiveNOW from Fox that I embedded above covers 14 minutes of a press conference from earlier this afternoon about the Jennings Creek Wildfire. It is worth the time to listen to if you want to learn some details about the wildfire. Direct link to NJFFS Facebook post shown below.

November 10th, 2:50 PM

I begin with the very sad news that one firefighter from the New York State Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation Department died on the afternoon of November 9th while working the Jennings Creek Fire in the New York side of the wildfire

Acreage burned has increased to 2,500 acres while the number of threatened structures has increased to twenty-five (from 10 yesterday). At the time of the NJ Forest Fire Service update about three hours ago, there were no evacuations. Local road and trail closures continue. A helicopter with a 350 gallon bucket is working the fire. This fire crossed the State line from Orange County, New York to Passaic County, New Jersey sometime on Saturday, November 9th. Direct link to NJFFS Facebook post shown below.

2024 New Jersey Wildfire Season: Cannonball 3 Wildfire, Passaic County - Update & Final Report

November 10th, 9:00 PM

The 181 acre Cannonball 3 Wildfire reached 100 percent containment at 6:30 PM thanks to the good work of the New Jersey Forest Fire wildland firefighters, local fire departments, and the work of helicopter with a 350 gallon bucket. Thanks to all of you for your hard work on containing this fire. No structures were destroyed or damaged and no one was injured.The NJ Forest Fire Service will be monitoring this fire over next several days to and shore up containment lines. Direct link to NJFFS Facebook post shown below.

November 10th, 2:45 PM

At the time the NJ Forest Fire Service made their morning update on the Cannonball 3 Wildfire at about 10:30 AM there has been no significant change in acres burned and containment since the evening of November 9th, see my November 9th post on the Cannonball 3 Wildfire for yesterday's updates. This wildfire has burned 175 acres and remains at 75 percent containment. Fifty-five structures were threatened. All lanes on Interstate 287 have reopened. Cannonball Road at Dupont Place was still closed. Direct link to Facebook post from the NJFFS shown below.