|
A forest fire in the Philadelphia suburb of Evesham forced the
evacuation of a dozen homes on Thursday and was threatening
dozens of other residences. The blaze was discovered Thursday
morning and had burned completely uncontained across less than
half a square mile (less than 2 square kilometers) by early
afternoon, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said.
Crews were battling another forest fire Thursday about an hour
away in Jackson Township that was discovered a day earlier.
And late Thursday afternoon, a third, smaller blaze broke out in
Glassboro, another Philadelphia suburb. Few details were
immediately available on that fire.
No injuries or property damage have been reported in any of the
fires.
“This is the driest we've been in the agency's history,” said
Jeremy Webber, a supervising fire warden with the Fire Service,
which was established in 1906.
Lack of significant rainfall since August contributed to the dry
conditions, which prompted the state to impose strict
restrictions on outdoor fires.
The fire in Jackson Township had grown to less than half a
square mile (1.2 square kilometers) and was 40% contained as of
late afternoon Thursday, said Greg McLaughlin, an administrator
with the fire service.
Conditions were so dry that new spot fires were continuously
breaking out as wind-blown leaves fall onto burning or
smoldering areas.
About 25 homes were evacuated near the Jackson fire, although
residents were permitted to return Wednesday night.
In Evesham, the blaze was threatening 104 homes overall,
including a dozen that were evacuated Thursday. A helicopter was
dropping 350 gallons (1,325 liters) of water at a time on the
blaze, officials said.
Joann Bertone lives near the Jackson fire, and described animal
and horse owners scrambling to arrange trailers to carry them to
safety.
“It was extremely scary,” she said. “I was up all night. It was
nerve-wracking.”
The causes of all three fires remain under investigation.
Dry conditions have helped spark many wildfires in New Jersey in
recent weeks. Since Nov. 1 the state has seen 102 forest or
wildfires that burned less than a square mile (less than 2
square kilometers), the fire service said. The state has not
seen significant rain in over a month, and that trend was
expected to continue for at least the next few days.
New Jersey experienced over 400 wildfires in October alone,
setting a new record, McLaughlin said.
Not even some promised rain Sunday night into Monday was
expected to make much of a difference, Webber said.
“We’re going to need inches of rain, not just one or two,” he
said.
___
Follow Wayne Parry on X at www.twitter.com/WayneParryAC
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights
reserved |
|
