Forest Fire At Wharton State Park Now Fully Contained
By Jenn Bernstein
WATERFORD TWP., N.J. (CBS) –A sign on Route 206 warns motorists to use caution as they drive by part of the Wharton State Forest.
Smokey conditions are expected today, after the latest forest fire scorched the area.
"From what I saw last night before we went into the night shift, everything looked really," said Incident Commander Rob Gill, "we're just going to make sure that line is secure."
Hundreds of acres were burned mostly in the Camden County section of the park from the time it started yesterday morning.
"We had to form a plan to fight fire with fire yesterday," said Gill, "we put fire on the ground and burn out any fuels, basically starving the fire of any fuels it could consume."
This is up close video of firefighters battling it yesterday. They worked throughout the night and morning to contain hotspots.
Neighbor Jim Clark said flames were only a mile from his home in Shamong Township, Burlington County.
"We saw smoke out of our back picture window. Luckily, it was on the other side of Atsion Lake so that gives a good buffer for me."
Every year, he deals with the risk of forest fires.
"It's always something to be worried about."
Officials declared the fire fully contained Monday evening.