About the New Jersey Forest Fire Service

As many of you know I have a lot of respect for the various wildfire agencies, on the ground and in the air, that fight wildfires in the United States and elsewhere. As a resident of New Jersey, I am sure that my followers know that I have a lot of respect and gratitude for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for fighting wildfires in New Jersey and when called upon working wildfires elsewhere in the United States. 

The subject of my blog on wildfires and the role the NJ Forest Fire Service plays in fighting wildfires in New Jersey came up recently in a conversation with a friend that prompted me to make this post today. I share this April 6th video here from NJ Advance Media to let them speak about how the NJ Forest Fire Service works wildfires in New Jersey.

Direct link to April 6th video from NJ.com (aka NJ Advance Media) on YouTube

NJ 2026 Wildfire Season: Spring Wildfire Season Continues April 17th Update

Spring wildfire season in New Jersey is upon us. Thanks to my friends at the NJ Forest Fire Service Section B10 website who report that all New Jersey Forest Fire Service Fire Towers https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wildfire/fire-towers/ are staffed today and that all three NJFFS Divisions (A, B, and C) have firefighting aircraft at air bases in each division and ready to go to help the firefighters on the ground fight wildfires. I did see that all fire towers were staffed yesterday, April 16th and firefighting aircraft were on site in the three divisions.

If you are interested in daily updates during the spring fire season go to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Section B10.
 

Obtained on April 17th from https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wildfire/fire-towers/

NJ 2026 Wildfires: West Deptford Twnshp, Gloucester County Contained

As I do almost daily, I go to Facebook to check the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for wildfire activity and prescribed burns. When I went to their Facebook page this past Saturday afternoon I saw a notice about a wildfire in West Deptford Township in Gloucester County NJ, with a notice that they would post a final update early Saturday evening. When I went back to check I saw that the fire in West Deptford Township had burned 160 acres and was at 100% containment. All roads were reopened. I am embedding the final post from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service on the West Deptford wildfire here, but have summarized the post here and am also sharing a link to the NJFFS Facebook post in case you are unable to see my embedded post.

NJ Forest Fire Service Update for March 31st: Prescribed Burns and Wildfire Contained

 

 

There were a few wildfires that burned on March 31st in Jackson Township (Burlington County. The fires were contained yesterday and I assume that the portion of I 195 that was still closed at the time the NJ Forest Fire Service posted the above update on their Facebook page is now reopened, at least I saw no signs of a closure when I checked this morning.

 

As you can see from the above Facebook post, the NJ Forest Fire did more prescribed burns in multiple locations in Sussex County NJ yesterday. As I understand it, yesterday (March 31st) was the last day the NJ Forest Fire Service can do prescribed burns

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: Prescribed Burning March 25

Obtained on March 25th from https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19DAFRnBog/

With the exception of Monday March 23rd when the weather was not conducive for prescribed burns the New Jersey Forest Fire Service has continued with prescribed burns in thirteen of twenty-one counties in New Jersey (Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren Counties). As I understand, weather permitting, prescribed burns will continue through the end of the month.

Obtained on March 25th from http://wildfire.nj.gov

 

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: Prescribed Burning Continues

Obtained on March 18th from https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NJDEP/bulletins/40eddca

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service continues with prescribed burning today, March 18th in Burlington, Monmouth, and Ocean Counties. 

Obtained on March 18th from https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wildfire/prescribed-fire-notifications/

For current information from the NJ Forest Fire Service about wildfires go to https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wildfire/

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: Prescribed Burns Continue and Brushfires

I understand from a conversation with a knowledgeable friend that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service  has extended the prescribed burn period to April 1st, probably because the two winter storms created wet conditions that were not conducive to prescribed burns. To that end, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service conducted more prescribed burns this past weekend on March 14th and again on March 15th in Burlington, Cape may, Gloucester, and Monmouth Counties. It is raining today so I don't think that any prescribed burns are happening today.

I also understand that there have been some recent brushfires in New Jersey. According to Jersey Coast Emergency News there was a brush fire in East Amwell Township (Hunterdon County) over the weekend, go here for more information. I have no further information on that brush fire. An addition, according to Jersey Coast Emergency News there were also several brush fires over the weekend. Finally, a friend told me about a small brush fire on Saturday, less than 5 acres near Manalapan in Monmouth County, NJ.

NJ Forest Fire Service - Prescribed Burns Conducted on March 10th & 11th

I follow the NJ Forest Fire Service on Facebook as well  as following the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page. Yesterday I noted in both sites that the NJ Forest Fire Service conducted prescribed burns in southern and central New Jersey in the counties of Burlington, Cumberland, Monmouth and Ocean. See this March 10th post on Facebook from the NJ Forest Fire Service for more information. 

Edited to add at 10:25 AM on March  11th: I just found out from the NJ Forest Fire Service Facebook account and the B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page (links above) that the NJ Forest Fire Service is doing more prescribed burns today, March 11th in Burlington, Cape May and Ocean Counties. The NJ Forest Fire Service just posted a March 11th update on their Facebook page, go here to see their March 11th post.

Obtained on March 11th from https://dep.nj.gov/parksandforests/wildfire/prescribed-fire-notifications/

Note, the map that I shared here is the current map (March 11th) when I posted this entry. The map may be different if you access the site on a different day.

Low Fire Danger in New Jersey (March 4)

 

NJ Forest Fire Service Fire Danger for March 4, 2026 

Knowing that at least in my area of New Jersey that there is still snow on the ground and the ground may be wet in areas where the snow has recently melted I had a feeling that fire danger in New Jersey is low as you can see from the images I posted. What I suspect but don't know for certain is that the snow on the ground coupled with wet areas where snow has melted might mean a delay in prescribed burning in New Jersey. I suspect that as soon as conditions improve for prescribed burning that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service will start on prescribed burning and fire danger may increase. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has a dashboard for wildfire conditions and restrictions that may be found here (note I could not access the full features on this site from Chrome but can in Firefox and Safari)