Crews battling New Jersey wildfires in driest conditions in nearly 120 years

EVESHAM, N.J. -- Firefighters were battling blazes in the parched New Jersey Pinelands on Thursday, where they say conditions are the driest they have been in at least 120 years.

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.

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