New Jersey’s wildfire season historically has run from mid-March to mid-May, but in the past decade, this timeline has shifted. Due to climate change, the Garden State has seen an increase in wildfires starting in February and going deep into the summer. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, 99% of wildfires in the state are caused by people, through accidents, carelessness and arson.
An analysis by Climate Central found that the annual number of days with a high risk of wildfire increased by 10 days in north Jersey, mostly due to hot, dry periods resulting from increasing temperatures. The state Forest Fire Service has responded to 1,034 wildfires so far this year. The fires burned 17,979 acres; 14 of them burned 100 acres or more — with some of them burning far more acreage than that — and were considered major wildfires.
This year has been the busiest wildfire season in over a decade. Some of the more extreme wildfires include the Allen Road wildfire, which burned 5,474 acres, Jimmy’s Waterhole wildfire, which caused 170 homes to be evacuated and the Flat Iron wildfire, which threatened 40 homes.
The 14 major wildfires so far in 2023 were:
- March 7: Governors Branch Wildfire (418 acres), Little Egg Harbor Township, Ocean County
- April 11: Jimmy’s Waterhole Wildfire (3,450 acres), Manchester Township and Lakehurst Borough, Ocean County
- April 12: Kanouse Wildfire (972 acres), West Milford Township, Passaic County
- April 14: Log Swamp Wildfire (1,607 acres), Little Egg Harbor Township, Ocean County
- April 18: River Road Wildfire (241 acres), Washington Township, Burlington County
- May 13: Cannonball Wildfire (102 acres), Pompton Lakes Borough, Passaic County
- May 29: Box Turtle Wildfire (158 acres), Monroe Township, Gloucester County
- May 31: Allen Road Wildfire (5,474 acres), Bass River Township, Burlington County
- June 2: Flatiron Wildfire (212 acres), Medford Township, Burlington County
- June 9: City Line Wildfire (711 acres), Manchester Township, Ocean County, and Pemberton and Woodland Townships, Burlington County
- June 9: Buzby Boggs Wildfire (703 acres), Evesham Township, Burlington County
- June 19: Acorn Hill Wildfire (246 acres), Woodland Township, Burlington County
- Aug. 20: Dragway Wildfire (1,778 acres), Waterford Township, Camden County, and Shamong and Medford, Burlington County
- Sept. 2: Airpark Wildfire (810 acres), Lacey Township, Ocean County