Nearly a month ago, a massive fire burned over 13,000 acres of the Pine Barrens across Burlington County and a small portion of Atlantic County. The blaze, which started from an illegal campfire, is now considered by experts to be the largest wildfire in the state in 15 years. While it sounds catastrophic, the fire ultimately benefited, rather than harmed, the local ecosystem.
“To the ecosystem that resides there, it was necessary to continue life … Several of the species will actually thrive from this event that occurred, and it will occur again someday,” said Shawn Judy, division forest fire warden of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
