You can thank the 4th of July and fireworks for the latest wildfire in the state of New Jersey. Far from a small blaze, the fire has quickly consumed thousands of acres across the south half of the state.
Fortunately, firefighters worked hard over the weekend and managed to contain the blaze going into this week. It's just a shame that a wildfire like this happened in the first place. According to New Jersey Forest Fire Service, someone lit "a fireworks device" on the 4th of July at Wharton State Forest. The sparks from that firework ignited a much larger wildfire.
Exactly who lit the firework remains a mystery. They certainly didn't call it in as good samaritans, that's for sure. A park ranger ended up spotting the inferno from a fire tower on Friday morning. It was burning Apple Pie Hill and the Batona Campground. They ended up evacuating the campsite due to the fire. Officials want to know who started the fire. They're working with state police as well the fire marshal's office to investigate the matter. However, they haven't announced any arrests.
Wildfire Burns Through Acres
By Sunday, firefighters contained three-quarters of the blaze and made additional steps over the past few days. However, the wildfire still burned through more than 4,000 acres. Crews used a backfire operation to stop the blaze. They burned areas around the fire to stop the flames from continuing to spread. Essentially, the fire hit an invisible wall.
As mentioned above, the wildfire is the largest in the state this year. It's four times bigger than the Wharton State Forest fire in April. However, it doesn't rank among the biggest in New Jersey history. The state has been battling fires for decades now. In particular, 2023 ended up being a very busy one for the state with 1,034 fires. In total, they burned 17,979 acres. The largest wildfire in 2023 was the Bass River State Forest blaze in May. It ended up burning through 5,000 acres as a result.
According to officials, people end up causing most wildfires. So it's important to consider your actions ahead of time. Don't let your carelessness threaten others. According to New Jersey law, fireworks aren't even allowed in state parks and forests, so the person acted illegally. Fortunately, this time, no one ended up losing their homes.
