Rain Doesn't Stop NJ Forest Fires

3 forest fires burn in NJ's tinder-dry Pinelands
By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press Writer

New Jersey's Forest Fire Service contended with three blazes Monday afternoon in the tinder-dry Pinelands, including one on a military base and a small one that could threaten some upscale homes.

The oldest and biggest fire is centered on the Ocean County community of Barnegat. Lightning sparked the fire Sunday, and by mid-afternoon Monday, it had charred nearly 900 acres of the Pinelands.

The Forest Fire Service's Bill Edwards said that by Monday afternoon, it was completely contained but not controlled. It was still burning in a swampy area virtually inaccessible to firefighters and heavy equipment _ but also remote enough not to threaten homes or property.

A fire on the Army's portion of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst had consumed about 120 acres around a firing range by midday Monday.

Edwards said it could grow to some 1,400 acres _ a big fire by New Jersey standards, but still far smaller than a blaze three years ago that burned 17,000 acres, starting at an Air Force target range where a pilot dropped some flares too low.

Edwards said the Army's system of prescribed burning and a major road ringing the area should keep it from being a threat to homes or businesses.

But, he said, the unexploded ordnance on base adds even more danger to fighting it and other fires on base.

Edwards said a third blaze in a swamp in Evesham Township was a modest 4 acres. But if it grows, he said, it could encroach on upscale homes in the Kings Grant neighborhood.

The fire service was watching the sky as well as the ground, with thunderstorms forecast for the area for Monday afternoon.

Lightning could start more fires and strong winds could spread blazes faster. But heavy rains could put them out.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and those thunderstorms will roll over the area and give it a good soaking," said Forest Fire Service spokesman Bert Plante. "Some of them are supposed to be severe."

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Associated Press reporter Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield contributed to this report.

Update:

Rain dampens but doesn't douse 3 NJ forest fires

By WAYNE PARRYAssociated Press Writer

Rain dampened but didn't douse three forest fires that smoldered Tuesday in the tinder-dry Pinelands, including one on a military base and a small one that initially threatened some upscale homes.

Firefighters now say none of the blazes appeared to be a threat to people or property. Two were largely burning underground.

Thunderstorms that swept across the Pinelands on Monday evening had been viewed as a potential boon to firefighting operations, but they provided scant rainfall.

"The rainfall we got on these fires was spotty at best," said Bert Plante, a spokesman for the state Forest Fire Service. "Some spots got tenths of an inch, some got nothing at all."

A fire that started Monday at a firing range on the Army's portion of Joint Base McGuire-Fort Dix-Lakehurst grew from about 120 acres to nearly 400 acres by Tuesday morning.

The fire was smoldering, and smoke from it was blowing toward Ocean County, said Senior Airman David Carbajal, a base spokesman.

The military had cleared fire lines around 1,400 acres surrounding the blaze, and it was not expected to escape those boundaries, Plante said.

Elsewhere in Ocean County, a fire that charred nearly 900 acres in and around Barnegat _ including a swampy, marshy area _ continued to smolder underground. A half-inch of rain fell on that blaze, but it still was not enough to put it out, Plante said.

The fire still has not been declared under control, largely because dry vegetation and natural combustible materials mixed in with the soil were burning underground and posed the potential for flare-ups if winds increased.

In Evesham Township, Burlington County, a fire that burned 3 1/2 acres also continued to smolder Tuesday, although it no longer was considered a threat to nearby homes.

"The fire is boring its way into the turf," Plante said. "It's burning like a giant charcoal briquette right now. It's going to take some time to put that out."