A New Jersey forest fire likely started by an illegal, unattended campfire had spread to at least 13,500 acres by Tuesday — and is threatening to be the Garden State’s biggest wildfire in 15 years, according to officials.
The fire was discovered early Sunday afternoon in a remote section of Wharton State Forest, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
By Wednesday, it had burned 13,500 of the 15,175-acre containment area that was set up around it, the fire service said.
It quickly spread to areas in Washington Township in Burlington County and Mullica Township in Atlantic County, threatening 18 structures, none of which have so far been damaged.
At least 50 people had to be evacuated from remote campsites within the forest that were only accessible by river or through hiking, but none were injured, the service said.
New Jersey Forest Fire Service chief Greg McLaughlin confirmed Tuesday that they had “ruled out natural causes” that started in an area that was not a designated campsite.
“It was essentially a makeshift (camp) fire,” McLaughlin said. “We suspect that people were passing through, whether on the river or hiking,” he said of a remote area in the state’s largest forest.
Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn Latourette also warned of the “great risk” of such blazes, stressing that “the majority of our forest fires are human-caused.”
“We could see in this incident the largest wildfire in the state of New Jersey in 15 years. That’s what we’re looking at here — and [it’s] avoidable,” he said.
“It’s serious. It’s real,” he warned.
The last fire that burned at least 15,000 acres was a 2007 blaze in southern Burlington and Ocean counties, which forced thousands of people to evacuate, NJ.com noted.
Gov. Phil Murphy praised the “heroic work” of fire crews battling the blaze that “went from 2,000 acres to 11,000 in a very short amount of time.”
“This is increasingly, sadly, the world we’re in, with climate change,” he said during a Q&A on News 12 New Jersey.
With Post wires
