Wildfire burning at Glassboro Wildlife Management Area in Gloucester County, New Jersey
Amid drought conditions, another wildfire has popped up in South Jersey. Crews are battling a wildfire at the Glassboro Wildlife Management Area in Gloucester County on Thursday, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said.
The NJFFS said the wildfire is burning in the area of Carpenter Avenue. Crews have begun a backfiring operation in order to contain the fire.
The NJFFS said the fire has spread to multiple acres and it's 0% contained.
The wildfire in Glassboro is the third NJFFS crews are battling this week in our region. A wildfire in Jackson Township, Ocean County, has grown to 300 acres. It's 40% contained.
Another wildfire impacting Burlington and Camden counties has grown to 200 acres and is 0% contained, according to the NJFFS.
Officials said the Garden State has responded to a record number of fires over the past month.
"We have been running fires every day for over a month," Greg McLaughlin, administrator for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Forests & Natural Lands, said. "We've had 400 fires statewide in the month of October alone; that's a record number of fires that this agency has responded to in over 100-year history that we've had."
CBS Philadelphia's weather team issued a NEXT Weather Alert day for Friday due to an elevated risk for fire across the entire state of New Jersey. A red flag warning will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The entire region is suffering from a severe drought, and Burlington and Atlantic counties are suffering an extreme drought. It's the worst drought in the area since 2002.
