Remembering the Warren Grove Fire: May 15-16 2007

 

Direct link to Video on YouTube shared by NJFFS Section B10 

The 17-18000 acre Warren Grove Fire that burned in Ocean and Burlington Counties on May 15-16 2007 occured before I devoted this blog to wildland firefighting. However, I recall hearing about the Warren Grove Wildfire on the news, online and otherwise. I live about 1.5 hours from the NJ Pinelands where this fire occured, I try to get there every year and am looking forward to going in a month or so. I do remember driving by the area that was devastated by this fire perhaps in the summer of 2007 but definately a year later. I recall looking at the stands of dead trees and at the same time seeing the young pines that were repopulating the devastated area. A couple of years later I could barely tell where this fire occured. So I pause today to remember this fire, thanks to a May 15th Facebook post by the NJFFS Section B10. Only one home was destroyed and four others were damaged. I wrote about the Warren Grove Fire on a May 2017 post to my blog

NJ Wildfire History: April 20, 1963 - "Black Saturday"

This morning I noticed the NJ Forest Fire Service post about the largest fire in NJ History that broke out on April 20, 1963 in Burlington and Ocean Counties, burning 183,148 acres. This wildfire lead to the creation of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. I have a book about the NJ Pinelands where this fire burned and I have been there several times so I know of this fire. I remember the six people and one firefighter that lost their lives as well as the homes that were destroyed and residents left homeless.

I am not able to embed this video here, sorry that happens sometimes. Please take a few minutes to watch the video by clicking on the link

Increase in Development in New Jersey Leading to Increased Risk of Wildfires

In the years that I have been writing this blog on aerial wildland firefighting and related issues, I have frequently come upon the term "wildland urban interface (WUI)", put simply the wildland urban interface is when residential or business development exists next to or in close proximity to undeveloped lands. For example, I have frequently read about the problems caused by residential development in the WUI in areas such as the western United States and in the mountains or large undeveloped lands in the east. The problem posed by the development in the WUI is not just a problem in the west or in the mountains, the WUI can be found across the United States in all States to varying degrees. 

Just because your State may have a smaller percentage of development in the WUI does not mean that the problem of wildfires in or near the wildland urban interface is non-existent or minimal. For example, I live in what I call a semi-rural neighborhood in central New Jersey. My neighborhood has many residences but there are some undeveloped areas on or near my street. My risk of being impacted by a wildfire in this undeveloped area is lower than out west or in the mountains, but there is a slight risk. Moreover, if there were such a wildfire in my neighborhood that started in one of these undeveloped parcels of land, unlike in remote and difficult to access locations, first responders and the NJ Forest Fire Service would have easy and quick access. 

There is a nice website from FEMA devoted to the wildland urban interface that may be found on their page on "What is the WUI?".  They have some important facts on the extent of the WUI including a map from the U.S. Forest Service showing the Number of houses in the WUI relative to the total houses in the state (%) for the lower 48 States. Here are some important facts about the WUI from FEMA's WUI page:

• More than 60,000 communities in the United States are at risk for WUI fires.
• Between 2002 and 2016, an average of over 3,000 structures per year were lost to WUI fires in the United States.
• The WUI area continues to grow by approximately 2 million acres per year.

New Jersey has experienced an increase in development leading to a higher risk of wildfires in the WUI. This risk was exemplied by New Jersey's 2023 Wildfire Season which I have written about in this blog. Here is a tag to my articles on New Jersey's 2023 Wildfire Season, there are over 50 articles here including some articles on prescribed burns, the most recent is listed first. But you can get a quick idea of the number of wildfires by scrolling through these articles. Structure protection was active in a few of these wildfires, fortunately no residences were lost. Fortunately, and the reason for this post is to highlight a recent report from 6ABC News out of Philadelphia focusing on the rise in wildfire risk in New Jersey as development continues in fire-prone areas.  The video is just under three minutes and is worth watching.

NJ fire history: Warren Grove Fire (May 15, 2007)

 I did not begin to explore write\ing about wildfires on this blog until the fall of 2018, but did not begin to focus on writing about aerial wildland firefighting and related issues until early 2009. I write today's post in remembrance of the 2007 Warren Grove Fire on May 15, 2007 that burned over 17,000 acres (19 square miles) in the New Jersey Pinebarrens. I have to be honest and am somewhat embarrassed to say that the Warren Grove Fire may have escaped my attention at the time because I was getting ready for a trip to Africa. I am not exactly an international traveler, so getting ready for this trip was a pretty big deal for me. However, I have driven by some of the areas burned in the Warren Grove Fire in following years and am struck by the post-fire regeneration in the Pine Barrens. What I recall as the remnants of burned pygmy pines are now replaced by pygmy pines, other pines and scrub oak. See for example my April 2019 post on how the NJ Pine Barrens recovers from a wildfire and photos from an October 2014 trip to the Pine Barrens. 

Here is the link to a write-up of the Warren Grove Fire from the NJ DEP. This is the link referenced in the above Facebook post.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: fighting a small and a moderate sized wildfire (November 7th to 8th)

I rarely, if ever, see such a small wildfire reported on by media outlets. I do not think it really matters that I do not specifics on these very small wildfires in New Jersey. The important thing is that NJFFS crews are quick to respond to all wildfires and are able to bring many fires under control at one acre or less. The point is that large or small the New Jersey Forest Service as well as crews in your State and national crews work hard to bring wildfires under control, stopping that a small amount of acreage burned.

Consider wildfires under one acre. Sometimes  these under one-acre wildfires may be near residences. Case in point is a one-quarter acre fire that burned on November 8th (see this Facebook post from NJFFS Section B10 ) in Marlboro New Jersey behind some residences. Good efforts by NJFFS Section B-10 aided by little if any wind meant that the wildfire was stopped at one-quarter acre. I happen to know about this very small wildfire because I regularly visit the NJFFS Section B10 Facebook page during my regular routine to check out wildfire news. Jersey Forest Fire Service crews. please know that I am always thinking of you and know that at any given time you may be out there fighting a wildfire, sometimes quite small to keep us in New Jersey safe.

Moving to slightly larger wildfires, I heard from a friend about a wildfire (the Gas-line Fire) of approximately 30 acres that burned in West Milford, Passaic County NJ (NJFFS Division A, Section A2) over the weekend. I understand that a NJFFS helicopter worked the fire to support the wildland firefighters on the ground. This is another example of what is probably one of many wildfires of this size that are not covered by media outlets. They may have gone unnoticed by me if it weren’t for my friend and a November 7th from another NJFFS Section B10 social media post reporting on the fire on November 7th. I don’t know any more information. What I will say is that hopefully by now, this 30-acre wildfire is well on the way to being contained by NJFFS Section A2 crews.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service crews, whether or not conventional media (newspapers, broadcast media) does not report on what you are doing does not matter. I know you are there. Same holds for social media accounts, I know you are there. You are dedicated to keeping us safe from wildfires because that is what you do. You often do so without fanfare and accolades. Well, take this post as my fanfare and accolades to you for a job well done.

New Jersey Forest Fire Service: a look back to 2014

The post that I intended to make today will have to put off until next week because at the least minute I wanted to try to find out some additional information. I thought about what to post today. It is Friday, so perhaps this will be Flashback Friday. The video that I am sharing is probably a rerun, I do that sometimes. This video is from the spring of 2014 about wildfires in Beachwood and Berkeley NJ, fought by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. I like this video, and I hope that you do to as it provides an idea of what the New Jersey Forest Fire Service does so well when they fight a wildfire. Allow nine and a half minutes to watch the video.

Direct link to video uploaded by Dustin Gabriel

2020 New Jersey wildfire season: L Field Fire (July 9th)

I want to thank a knowledgeable friend for telling me about the L Field Fire that was first reported by a New Jersey Forest Fire Service aircraft on July 9th. At last report from my friends at the NJFFS Section B10 (note this page may be revised in a day or so) the L Field Fire has burned 204 acres and was at 80 percent containment in the Collier Mills Wildlife Management Area near the Cassville section of Jackson NJ. The fire was large enough that a staging area was set up at a Church on Route 528 near the fire. I also understand that one of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service helicopters, Delta 3 flew the fire yesterday.

As I write this the rains from Tropical Storm Fay have impacted all of New Jersey, so I expect that the L Field Fire may be fully contained.  It burned in a remote section of the Colliers Mill WMA and no structures were threatened. I do not know exactly where the L Field Fire was located, but I saved an image from Google Earth for you so you can get a sense of where the fire was located.

More information about this fire may be obtained from the following media sites.

MidJerseyNews (July 9th) with pictures

Asbury Park Press  (July 9th) with a photo

New Jersey Advance Media (July 10th)

Thanks to all the firefighters on the ground and in the air who worked to contain this fire before the rains came.

2020 New Jersey wildfire season: May 19 wildfire activity & enhanced fire danger

May 20th, 5:04 PM

The NJ Forest Fire Service Section B10 webpage is reporting that as of this morning the Big Timber Fire has burned 2,107 acres after burnout operations and was at 95% containment


May 20th, 10:10 AM

I understand from a couple of knowledgeable friends who keep me in the loop about wildfires here in New Jersey that there is a major wildfire currently burning in the Winslow Wildlife Management Area in Winslow Township (Camden County). The Big Timber Fire was reported about 1:30 pm yesterday by NJ Forest Fire Service Fire Towers. High winds yesterday exacerbated firefighting efforts. NJFFS Section C6 is working the fire, conducting burn out operations. No structures are threatened and no evacuations have been ordered. As I write this, the fire has burned about 750 acres. NJFFS Section B10 is currently reporting on the fire on their webpage. ABC6 in Philadelphia is reporting on this fire with a video, last updated about 8 AM this morning. I will update this post later as conditions change. Bill Gabbert of Wildfire Today did is usual outstanding job on reporting on this fire, known as the Big Timber Fire, in his article of May 19, 2020.

My friend also told me that yesterday (May 19th) was a busy day for the NJFFS. I know no other details at the moment.

For the second day in a row, the NWS Mt. Holly has issued a Special Weather Statement for enhanced fire danger. I have copied today's Special Weather Statement below.

Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ
320 AM EDT Wed May 20 2020

DEZ001-MDZ008-012-NJZ001-007>010-012-013-015>023-027-201700-
New Castle-Cecil-Kent MD-Sussex-Warren-Morris-Hunterdon-Somerset-
Middlesex-Western Monmouth-Mercer-Salem-Gloucester-Camden-
Northwestern Burlington-Ocean-Cumberland-Atlantic-Cape May-
Southeastern Burlington-
Including the cities of Wilmington, Elkton, Chestertown, Newton,
Washington, Morristown, Flemington, Somerville, New Brunswick,
Freehold, Trenton, Pennsville, Glassboro, Camden, Cherry Hill,
Moorestown, Mount Holly, Jackson, Millville, Hammonton,
Cape May Court House, and Wharton State Forest
320 AM EDT Wed May 20 2020

...ENHANCED RISK OF WILDFIRE SPREAD TODAY...

Low relative humidity, gusty easterly winds, and dry fine fuels
will create and elevated risk for the spread of wildfires today
through early this evening across much of New Jersey and far
northern Delmarva.

For more information about wildfire danger, burn restrictions and
wildfire prevention and education please visit your state
forestry or environmental protection website.

$$

MPS

2020 New Jersey wildfire season: May17th wildfire activity

Thanks to a friend, I know of two wildfires that burned in New Jersey yesterday. These are just the wildfires that I know about, I suspect that there may be other smaller wildfires that I do not know about.

Roosevelt 99 Fire: first reported early Sunday morning, May 17th, in Manchester Township, Ocean County (NJ Forest Fire Service Section B5). Structures were near by and were not threatened. Ninety-nine acres were burned after firing operations, the fire was reported to be 100% contained at about 6PM on May 17th. See this post from the NJFFS Section B10 Facebook Page

Mt. Tammany Fire: first reported Sunday afternoon, May 17th, on Mt. Tammany in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Warren County NJ, burning about 1 acre near the junction of two popular trails on Mt. Tammany (see this Facebook post from the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. This small wildfire is near the area burned in the 80 acre Rock Face Fire on February 23, 2020. Later on May 17th, the Mt. Tammany fire was still reported to have burned about 1 acre and was at 90% containment. A NJFFS helicopter made bucket drops to aid the ground crews. See this article from Lehigh Valley Live and a second Facebook post (4:30 PM on May 17th) from the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Crews from the NJFFS and the National Park Service fought this fire.

Thanks to the wildland fire crews from the NJ Forest Fire Service and the National Park Service for your work fighting these wildfires. Nice job.

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.

2019 NJ wildfire season: civil charges filed for Spring Hill Fire

A little over a year ago, the Spring Hill fire burned 11,638 acres in the New Jersey Pine Barrens (aka as the Pinelands), for more information on this fire see my two articles (with links) from April 1, 2019 here and here, and my April 8, 2019 articles with some aerial photos of the fire. I am especially fond of the section of the Pine Barrens near where the Spring Hill fire burned, known as Penn State Forest. I have traversed a portion on sand roads in my old all-wheel drive Subaru and when my knees were better, I walked along another sand road. If memory serves, deeper in Penn State Forest are some small pines that I call Pygmy Pines. They grow no higher than about 3 feet and for reasons that are hard to explain, I am drawn to the Pygmy Pines are special to me. I have seen Pygmy Pines elsewhere in the Pine Barrens but have never seen the Pygmy Pines in Penn State Forest. I do not know the area well enough to know what has and has not come back in the year since since the Spring Hill Fire burned. Nor do I know if the Pygmy Pine Plains in Penn State Forest burned. I do know and have seen with my own that the pines in the Pine Barren can come back after a fire, see my April 2019 article for more information.

I found out late last week, that civil charges have been filed against five individuals with actions that lead to the Spring Hill fire (see this April 16th press release from the NJ DEP for more information):

The filing of civil charges comes one year after the fire burned 11,638 acres of land in Bass River and Penn State forests. A complaint signed Friday, March 20, charges five individuals with setting a fire without written permission, and failure to extinguish the fire and notify authorities. The court filing seeks approximately $50,000 in restitution. 

“The Forest Fire Service’s pursuit of those responsible for this devastating wildfire was necessary because they recklessly put lives and property at risk,” Commissioner McCabe said. “The Spring Hill fire burned for a month, closed roads and required extensive resources to keep the public safe. Thankfully, there were no injuries or personal property damage during the fire, but thousands of acres of the public’s natural resources were needlessly destroyed. 

The press release goes on to explain that the Pinelands ecosystem is especially vulnerable to fire:

The Pinelands ecosystem, which covers a large swath of southern New Jersey – including the area of the Spring Hill wildfire -- is especially vulnerable to wildfires because its predominant tree and shrub species are particularly flammable. In addition, this region tends to dry out quickly after rainfall because of its porous and sandy soils. 

That was the case with the Spring Hill wildfire on March 30, 2019, which resulted when embers from an illegal bonfire on private property escaped and set a nearby forest ablaze. Weather conditions fueled the spread. 

Please pay attention to any regulations involving camp or bon fires. Please do fully extinguish any fires with water where it is cool to the touch before leaving the area.

2020 NJ wildfire season: update on the Split Ditch Fire

I wrote about the Split Ditch Fire on Friday, April 10th  that had burned over 1,000 acres in the Millville Wildlife Management Area in Downe Township, Cumberland County New Jersey. The fire was reported contained on Saturday, April 11th at 1,518 acres. The fire, which started on Thursday April 9th, was caused by lightning. For more information see this Facebook Post from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and an April 12th article from NJ Advance Media.

An observation, if I may. Now I am no expert in wildfire starts in New Jersey. However there were some rain storms that passed through the State on Thursday afternoon, some accompanied by lightning. I believe that this type of thunderstorm is called a wet thunderstorm because if is raining. As opposed to the dry thunderstorms (with little or no rain) that occur out west.  I believe that lightning from these dry thunderstorms do cause a number of wildfires in western parts of the country.

What some of you may not know is that the New Jersey closed the state and county parks, forests, recreation areas, etc effective Tuesday, April 7 at 8 PM see this article from NorthJersey for more information. Knowing this, I was wondering how this wildfire got started. I figured that arson or an unattended camp fire was only a remote possibility because of the closure. I wondered about lightning but I know that lightning caused wildfires in New Jersey do not happen that often It turns out that according to the NJ Forest Fire Service the Split Ditch Fire was caused by lightning. Interesting. It is contained now and with last nights and today's rain fall, I would think that any remaining hot spots are out.

Oh, by the way, the State of New Jersey was under a Red Flag Warning on Saturday, April 11th. I have not heard of any larger wildfires that may have started on Saturday, at least none that I am aware of through my local news sources. If I hear of anything, I will report back.

2020 NJ wildfire season: Split Ditch Fire burns over 1,000 acres

I only found out today that the Split Ditch has burned over 1,000 acres in the Millville Wildlife Management Area in Downe Township in Cumberland County, New Jersey. Cumberland County is located in NJ Forest Fire Service Division C in southern New Jersey. The fire was first reported on Thursday afternoon, April 9th. Windy conditions have no doubt contributed to this wildfire. For more information on the Split Ditch Fire go to:

NJ Advance Media article (April 10th)
NJFFS Section B10 Twitter (April 9th)
Wildfire Today (April 9th) with video links

2020 New Jersey Wildfires: Rock Face Fire almost contained

Obtained on February 25, 2020 from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Facebook Page

There is good news about the Rock Face Fire, started  on Sunday afternoon February 23rd on Mt. Tammany in Worthington State Forest in New Jersey, (see my February 24th article). It remains at 80 acres burned and at last report is at 95 percent containment. In addition it has been raining on off since February 25th and more rain is in the forecast for tonight. See these news report from Lehigh Valley Live and WFMZ News 69 for more information.

My thanks to the wildland firefighters who had to hike up to the fire because it was inaccessible to their engines and to the pilot of Delta5 who made water drops on the fire. Thanks for keeping us safe, your work is appreciated.

2020 New Jersey Wildfires: Rock Face Fire, Worthington State Forest (Feb 24)

February 24th 5:45 PM

WFMZ News 69 in Allentown Pennsylvania is reporting that the Rock Face Fire is now at 80 acres and is at 80 percent containment. Officials with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service say that the fire will not be fully contained until there has been one-half inch of rain. There were about 40 wildland firefighters working the fire aided by water drops by a helicopter, probably Delta 5. The News 69 article had an interesting report on behavior of the Rock Face Fire.

Chris Franek, the state forest fire service's assistant division fire warden, said fires on similar terrain usually burn upward but that Sunday's fire, which started below a trail at an elevation of about 1,400 feet burned downhill because the trail area is rocky and without abundant vegetation. He said fires are rare there at this time of year because the area usually has a layer of snow.

According to LehighValleyLive in an article (with a photo gallery) updated today at 4:11 PM, there was a 3 PM conference call with Chris Franek, the NJFFS Assistant Division State Warden:

Though the fire and emergency response closed some of the trails to the summits overlooking the Delaware River in northern Warren County, the blaze mostly affected brush and fallen leaves and appeared to spare the wooded parklands any serious, lasting damage. 

“It was almost like a rejuvenation process” clearing undergrowth from the woods, said Chris Franek, an assistant division fire warden with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, during a 3 p.m. conference call updating media on the operation’s status.

February 24th 8:40 AM revised 11 AM

The Rock Face Fire started on February 23rd near the Red Dot Trail on Mt. Tammany. The command post is at the Dunnfield Creek Parking lot off of Interstate 80 West just before you cross into Pennsylvania. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service Huey Helicopter known as Delta 5 worked the fire yesterday afternoon until night fall shut her down. I understand that wildland firefighters from the NJ Forest Fire Service as well as the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area are fighting the fire. This is a fire that requires wildland firefighters to hike in to fight the fire. Approximately 70 acres have burned.

When I was younger with better knees, I hiked up Mt. Tammany on the Red Dot Trail, it is a very nice trail and it is quite steep in spots. The State Forest and the Delaware Water Gap Recreation area are open, but trails in the area are closed to hiking. Interstate 80 is open with one lane blocked.

Thank-you to my friends from NJFFS Section B10 who made me aware of this wildfire this morning.

I do not know the exact location of the Rock Face Fire, but I do want to share a screen shot from Google Earth of the area where the fire is.  You will see the trail head for the red dot trail up Mt. Tammany in New Jersey. I believe that the incident command center is a parking area just to the west of the red dot trail head.

Information on the Rock Face Fire

Monday Morning (February 24th) update from Section A3 District Wardens Association Facebook Page

LehighValleyLive (February 24th)

WFMZ News 69 (Allentown PA) report with photos and video (February 24th)
More photos from the Section A3 Wardens Facebook Page may be found here, here, here and here

These videos that I am sharing below were posted on the Section A3 Wardens Facebook Page, depending on your privacy settings and the browser you are using, you may not see the videos. But you may find the video of the Delta 5 may be found here and a short video of the wildfire taken on the evening of February 23rd may be found here.

2019 wildfire season: small fire in northern NJ (Division A) on October 2nd

Wednesday afternoon, a friend of mine gave me a heads up about a small wildfire that was burning near the Appalachian Trail(AT) in northern New Jersey (Division A). I am not quite sure of exactly where this fire was located so I won't post a map. In years past when I had a better pair of knees, I had done various day hikes on the AT from where the trail crosses Interstate 80 near the Delaware River to about 16 miles north of Interstate 80. This was about 20 years, a few day hikes over a couple of years. I do occasionally take much shorter hikes on the approach trails to the AT, as my knees allow. much of the AT in this part of New Jersey is fairly rugged. Approaching the AT, you either climb part of the way in your car to a trail junction or you park near the River and climb to the ridge either along the AT or on one of a few side trails in either Worthington State Forest or the Delaware River National Recreation Area.

I am not a wildland firefighter, but I can imagine that fighting a wildfire in this area is hard work. And depending on where the wildfire is, access may be difficult.  If the wildfire is on a ridge, then the terrain can be an issue.

I don't know many specifics about this wildfire. I am pretty certain that the fire is contained. I say that because we got some rain in northern New Jersey and I suspect that the rain helped the firefighters. Nonetheless, I offer my kudos and thanks to the wildland firefighters for your work in fighting the wildfire. Given how dry it had been up until early Wednesday evening, the fire could have been a whole lot worse than it was.

Thank-you National Park Service and New Jersey Forest Fire Service wildland firefighters! You rock!

For more information on this fire, read this short article from the North Jersey Herald.

2019 wildfire season: two recent wildfires in NJ

I had been thinking recently that in many parts of the United States that it is always wildfire season. Further, I had also been thinking that wildfires often can and do crop up outside of the usual wildfire season, which for New Jersey is in the spring before the trees leaf out and then later in the fall. And of course a prolonged dry spell or drought can increase the risk of wildfires. Lastly, wildfires can and do happen on days when there is no elevated fire danger or red flag warnings. It always pays to be prepared.

This past weekend I found out about two wildfires in central and southern New Jersey that occurred over a week ago. What can I say? I was not keeping up with my usual internet sources of wildfire information from the NJ Forest Fire Service. Having been suitably embarrassed, I am being more diligent in checking out my sources on a regular basis. Not that I will hear about every wildfire in New Jersey, as I don't usually hear about the frequent small wildfires that are quickly contained.

I want to thank my friends from the NJ Forest Fire Service Section B10 where I saw information on these two fires last weekend. Their website has since been updated but I will refer you to their tweets.

Mordecai Swamp Fire: This wildfire was first reported either June 4th or June 5th, I am not quite sure, in a remote area of the Warton State Forest in Washington Township, Burlington County NJ. The fire burned approximately 90 acres. No houses were affected and there were no injuries. The fire was declared 100 percent contained on June 13th. See these June 5th and 6th tweets from the NJFFS Section B10 Twitter Page.

The Jack Swamp Fire was fire reported on either June 8th or June 9th, I think it was on June 9th. This wildfire was near the Burlington-Camden County border just southwest of Atsion Lake. Route 206 near Hammonton was closed for awhile (two tweets from the NJFFS Section B10 Twitter on June 9th that may be found here. The Jack Swamp Fire burned in a remote area, no structures were threatened and there were no injuries. I understand that a helicopter flew the fire, but I do not know if it had a bucket or if it was observation only. The fire was reported as being 100 percent contained on June 10th, see this June 10th tweet from the NJFFS Section B10 (with video from Fox 29 in Philadelphia). The NJ FFS monitored this wildfire for at least a couple of days after it was contained until rainfall fully extinguished the wildfire. The cause of this wildfire is under investigation.

From 2017: footage of NJFFS helicopter working a wildfire

I came across the video last week thanks to my friends at the NJ Forest Fire Service Section B10 webpage who posted it last week on their video of the week page (videos changed weekly). It is possible that this video is one that I have shared before, if so it is worth a second viewing.

You will see about five minutes of footage of a New Jersey Forest Fire Service helicopter and bucket working an April 2017 wildfire in Ramapo Reservation in northern Bergen County, NJ.



direct link to video from Mahwah Fire Rescue

Photos of Spring Hill Fire burn scar

I have good pilot friends who understand me and my love of aviation. They know that I will never be a licensed pilot and take me on "sight seeing" flights as schedules allow. Meaning when the weekend weather cooperates. This past weekend, we had two good days, so I was able to go flying on Sunday afternoon, April 7th.

It was a great day for flying, and there were a lot of folk who were also in the air. We flew the Pine Barrens, and flew over a portion of the burn scar from the Spring Hill Fire. Recall this article by Stephen Stirling of New Jersey Advanced Media showing some before and after satellite imagery of the Spring Hill Fire burn scar. He reported on what Larry Hajna of the NJ DEP said about the veins of green trees that you see in the three of the four photos:

“The long, thin ribbons of trees result from a phenomenon called horizontal roll vortices,” said Hajna. “Basically, these tornadic winds move upward and it kind of does a wave and creates an air pocket that is cooler than the surrounding environment. And it leaves a strip of unburned trees and leaves a path that indicates the direction.”

These thin ribbons of trees are especially pronounced in this first photo. please excuse the poor quality of the photograph. Taking pictures out of the window of an airplane is sometimes challenging and I had to retouch the photograph.

Spring Hill Fire burn scar, photographed on April 7, 2019

The next two photos are taken when we are near Coyle Field. Coyle Field is owned by the NJ Forest Fire Service. Route 72 where NJ Forest Fire Service ground crews did burn out operations runs adjacent to Coyle Field (barely visible in the second photo).

Spring Hill Fire burn scar, Coyle Field (NJFFS) photographed on April 7, 2019

Spring Hill Fire burn scar, Coyle Field (NJFFS) photographed on April 7, 2019

This last photograph is taken somewhere over the Spring Hill Burn scar. Again the photo quality is not the greatest. But it does show the burned area.

Spring Hill Fire burn scar, photographed on April 7, 2019

2019 NJ Fire Season: Just in 660 acre fire in Burlington County

April 4th, 11 AM

I heard from my friends at NJFFS Section B10 earlier this morning that the fire was contained last night, and that the acreage burned may be around 660 acres, down from 1,200 acres. I just went to the Asbury Park Press who has updated their article on the fire this morning stating that the Joint Base McGuire-Fort Dix-Lakehurst and the Pemberton Volunteer Fire Department issued statements that the fire is 100 percent contained at 660 acres. Roads in the area that were closed on Wednesday are now open albeit with some delays as firefighters continue to work in the area.. Firefighters will be monitoring the area burned for hotspots.

April 3rd, 10 PM

I was listening to the NJFFS Division B (central NJ) online scanner on and off all day. I knew about this online scanner through my friends at NJFFS Section B10, they post links to the scanners in all three divisions. I usually listen to Division B for the NJ Pine Barrens, but this scanner also covers some of Division A where I live. Anyway, as I was listening today, I did note some wildfire activity near the Joint Base McGuire-Fort Dix Lakehurst near Pemberton NJ. I later heard reference that one of the NJ Forest Fire Service Huey Helicopters was requested. My friends at the NJFFS Section B10 gave me a heads up about the fire size (1,200 acres), they confirmed that the Huey and bucket flew the fire early (Delta 5). NJFFS crews were requested about 2:30 PM along with the Huey. At the time I wrote this there was no information about containment.

According to an Asbury Park Press report this evening that may be found here, there were road closures in place near the wildfire but there were no evacuations. According to the Joint Base Facebook Page, the fire originated on a training range on the base. The wildland firefighters on the ground (NJFFS, Joint Base crews, and mutual aid from nearby municipalities) will work through the night.

Red Flag Warnings in this area of New Jersey, originally set to expire at 9 PM, are now due to expire at 11 PM.

ABC6 in Philadelphia just posted a video of this from shot from their Helicopter, Chopper 6. I could not get their embed code to work, but here is a direct link to the video that I hope works.

Red Flag Warning

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Mount Holly NJ
854 PM EDT Wed Apr 3 2019

NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055-060>062-070-071-101>106-040300-
/O.CON.KPHI.FW.W.0001.000000T0000Z-190404T0300Z/
Sussex-Warren-Morris-Hunterdon-Somerset-Middlesex-
Western Monmouth-Eastern Monmouth-Mercer-Salem-Gloucester-Camden-
Northwestern Burlington-Ocean-Cumberland-Atlantic-Cape May-
Atlantic Coastal Cape May-Coastal Atlantic-Coastal Ocean-
Southeastern Burlington-Carbon-Monroe-Berks-Lehigh-Northampton-
Delaware-Philadelphia-Western Chester-Eastern Chester-
Western Montgomery-Eastern Montgomery-Upper Bucks-Lower Bucks-
854 PM EDT Wed Apr 3 2019

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 PM EDT THIS
EVENING...

* AFFECTED AREA...Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey,

* TIMING...Until 11:00 PM this evening.

* WINDS...West 15 to 20 mph with gusts 25 to 30 mph.

* RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 15 to 20 percent this evening,
  increasing overnight.

* IMPACTS...Gusty winds and very dry air will create conditions
  that will promote the rapid spread of wildfires.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring or are imminent due to a combination of
strong winds, low relative humidity and dry fuels. Any fires that
develop may quickly get out of control and become difficult to
contain.

For more information about wildfire danger, burn restrictions,
and wildfire prevention and education, please visit your state
forestry or environmental protection website.