Peak wildfire season in New Jersey began a couple of weeks ago, while the state hasn’t fully recovered from last fall’s drought after a winter of below-average precipitation.
“Things are just really tinder-dry,” said Matt Olson, an assistant professor of environmental science at Stockton University. “Any little thing that could spark is more likely to spark something.”
Firefighters took on a large fire at the weekend in Wharton State Forest. The California Branch Wildfire, which grew to 2,336 acres, forced the evacuation of two campsites but did not threaten any structures or homes. The fire was fully contained by Monday morning.
William Love, an assistant division fire warden with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, said other parts of the state could experience wildfires, even if they’re not usually susceptible to them.
“Some of these areas we’re having fires, the reason we’re having fires is because they’re wetlands that aren’t wetlands anymore due to the drought,” he said. “We had that industrial wildfire last year in Essex County. That typically would be under water. There’d be ducks in there.”
Under a budget proposal from Gov. Phil Murphy, the Forest Fire Service would receive an extra $1 million in state funding for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
