New Jersey's Wharton State Forest fire 65% contained, 4,000 acres burned since Friday
TABERNACLE, N.J. (CBS) -- A wildfire that began burning in Wharton State Forest on Friday has grown to 4,000 acres but remains 65% contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said in an update Sunday.
Though the number of acres burned and level of containment remains unchanged from Saturday, NJFFS officials said containment crews were making progress. Their next update is scheduled for 1 p.m.
The NJFFS added Sunday morning that there are still no structures threatened in the area.
As a precaution, the forest's Batona Campground was evacuated by park police after the fire broke out on July 5, which the service is labeling as the Tea Time Hill Wildfire.
The NJFFS previously said two structures, a residential structure and a hunting club, in the area, were threatened. Those threats were cleared as of Saturday morning.
The Batona Trail is also closed between Route 532 and Carranza Road, and the Tulpehocken Trail is closed from Apple Pie Hill to Hawkins Bridge. There are additional local road closures in the forest and Carranza Road is closed from the Carranza Memorial to Speedwell Road at Friendship Field.
Fire officials said last week they were concerned about how the weather conditions would affect their rescue efforts.
"It's hot. I think it's roughly 94 degrees. Humidity's up so a lot of wear and tear on the firefighters," NJFFS Chief Bill Donnelly said Friday.
Firefighters also said the terrain is challenging.
"The fire is burning in a very rugged area of the Wharton State Forest. A lot of it is inaccessible to motorized vehicles and our fire equipment," Tom Gerber, incident commander of the NJFFS said Friday.
Forest fires are declared "major" once they reach 100 acres in size.
NEXT Weather Meteorologists Grant Gilmore and Tammie Souza said this weekend's weather has not been particularly conducive to fires, with high humidity and a lack of a strong wind that could carry flames. However, parts of the state are under moderate drought conditions which began last week for the first time since December.
Even though we are still in the surplus for rainfall on the year, the heat over the last month combined with relatively little recent rain has caused things to dry out pretty quickly.
In 2023, more than 18,000 acres of forest were burned in New Jersey. The NJFFS responded to more major fires than they had in over 20 years.
The state's first major wildfire of 2024 was the County Line wildfire between Burlington and Camden counties.
While the cause of the Tea Time Hill fire remains under investigation, the NJFFS said 99% of forest fires in New Jersey are caused by people.
