Wildfire fears becoming reality in northern parts of New Jersey
LIVINGSTON, N.J. -- New Jersey is already starting to see wildfires -- far more north than the state had warned residents about.
Officials consider it unprecedented for the Essex County area, as this is considered one of the longest dry spells for the region on record.
The situation in Livingston
Plumes of black smoke and flames were just feet from Livingston's busy shopping centers along Route 10 on Saturday.
"The fire dangers are at very high or extreme, so these are kind of unprecedented fire dangers that we are experiencing now, which would be abnormal for this time of year," said Eric Weber, assistant division fire warden for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
And abnormal for the region as it has seen no measurable rain this month so far. On Saturday afternoon, officials got calls about smoke billowing from the wooded area behind Industrial Parkway in Livingston. Crews stayed overnight to put flames out that spread to at least 140 acres. At over 100 acres, it's considered a major wildfire.
Alex Roxas was working his assistant manager shift at Spirit Halloween on Saturday in front of Industrial Parkway. Within minutes, the store was fully evacuated.
"We still had customers driving up, trying to get into the store, getting out of their cars and walking up, so we had to basically shout across the parking lot, 'Hey guys, we're closed. We're not taking any customers.' Nobody on our staff has ever experienced anything like that before," Roxas said.
The ride home took twice as long after officials had to shut down parts of Route 10 and evacuate more businesses, which reopened on Sunday. The Twisted Tulip had to close hours early on Saturday.
"We wrapped up some food, closed up the shop, and locked up and we just drove out of there. So having to close up was a little bit of a difficult transition into the next day. The most important thing was getting out as fast as possible," bartender Shaam Beed said.
"We're feeling comfortable with this containment"
Street closures lasted into Sunday, as local fire departments worked to contain the flames with the help of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. Charred trees were chopped down. Officials said Sunday night the wildfire is 90% contained.
"Everything is going according to plan, so we're feeling comfortable with this containment," Weber said. "There are unburned pockets of fuel inside our fire perimeter. There's still gonna be smoke and flames for today and a few days going forward because of the drought and dryness conditions we're experiencing."
The smell of smoke is still strong throughout the area and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service says it might not be fully contained until there's a measurable rainfall. Officials have reported no injuries or damage to any nearby buildings.