Peak Wildfire Season Is Right Now, State Forest Fire Warden Says

TRENTON - The brush fire in Barnegat on Thursday afternoon lead to the evacuation of 21 homes. But it could have been worse, the state Forest Firewarden said today.

The midday fire was 1.5 acres, which might not seem like that much.

"It does not take a large fire to cause significant damage," said Gregory McLaughlin said during a press conference today.

What does count is the state Forest Fire Services' ability to get to a blaze as quickly as possible and determine the best way to fight it.

Had firefighters been unable to get to the Barnegat blaze as quickly as they did, there could have been significant fire damage, he said.

"It was in fact, a significant event," McLaughlin said.

New Jersey is in the middle of the peak wildfire season, which will end sometime after Memorial Day, he said.

The state has averaged about 1,500 wildfires a year over the past 20 years. And most of them are under five acres and 98 percent of them are caused by humans, McLaughlin said.

The state Forest Fire Service relies on the "three pillars" of firefighting prevention, like prescribed burns, suppression and preparedness, he said.

There are 21 fire towers in New Jersey -"our eyes in the skies" - manned by trained spotters who can determine where a fire is by the smoke condition, how much vegetation is in the area, and how easily firefighters can get to the blaze, McLaughlin said.

The recent wildfire that ate through 843 acres of private and state lands in Penn State Forest in Burlington County recently was in a remote region. The state Forest Fire Service has vehicles designed to take down whole trees if needed to get to a fire, he said.

The blaze was first spotted Sunday afternoon by the Cedar Bridge and Batso firetowers at 2:07 p.m. At first only fifty acres were involved, but a sea breeze sprung up and the fire quickly grew to 843 acres, state Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Caryn Shinske has said.

The state Forest Fire Service and volunteer firefighters from Chatsworth, Green Bank, New Gretna and Lower Bank helped fight the fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the state Forest Fire Service, the New Jersey State Park Police, the New Jersey State Police and the Burlington County Fire Marshal's Office.

Wildfire season should calm down in several weeks, when leaves begin to sprout on deciduous trees, which will keep the forest floors moist and cooler, McLaughlin said.

That's especially important in the Pine Barrens, where water is absorbed quickly into the area's sandy soils, he said.

Fire danger creeps up again in the fall, when trees drop their leaves.

Flier, Photos: Courtesy of New Jersey State Forest Fire Service.