Dry air, gusty winds driving up risk of wildfires in New Jersey
LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) - Dry air and gusty winds are driving up the risk of wildfires in South Jersey. On Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning, which means any fire that starts may quickly get out of control.
It's a scene like this that officials are warning about. It's a 400-acre wildfire from March 7 in Little Egg Harbor Township.
"This year, through February, we've had 119 fires statewide," Greg McLaughlin, Chief at NJ Forest Fire Service, said. "In that same period last year, January and February, we had 71 fires. So, we have seen an increase in activity."
McLaughlin says wildfire season normally starts in mid-March, but this year it started a month early, thanks in part to a mild winter.
"Snow, because it's heavier, will compact some of those pine needles and leaves on the forest floor and reduce the amount of airspace between them. So it may take a little bit more energy to get a fire started," McLaughlin said.
But this year, there hasn't been that snowpack, so any fires that start are more likely to spread quickly. And it could happen even in small wooded areas near neighborhoods.
On Sunday, a brush fire broke out on Feiler Court near an apartment complex in Lawrence Township.
Elizabeth Carney smelled the smoke.
"My husband thought maybe bacon, the neighbors cooking something, and um, I thought no, it's probably a fire," Carney said.
As high winds and dry air create opportunities for explosive fire growth, McLaughlin urges residents to take precautions.
"Folks are thinking about spring, you know, they're doing that cleanup there, they may be putting out their wood stove ashes or their fireplace ashes. And you know, we see fire starts from that kind of inactivity because folks don't realize that those coals in those fireplaces may not actually be out," McLaughlin said.
If conditions permit, the New Jersey Forest Fire service will start doing more prescribed burns this week to eliminate hazardous fuel and reduce the likelihood of extreme wildfires.