N.J. wildfires more than triple in number from the same time last year
Already this year, the state has recorded 215 wildfires that have scorched 514 acres.
New Jersey’s wildfire season is off to an ominous start — and it hasn’t truly begun.
Already this year, the state has recorded 215 wildfires that have scorched 514 acres. That contrasts with 69 wildfires and 22 acres consumed over the same period in 2024. But wildfire season typically doesn’t start until spring, when March winds whip up fires without green vegetation to slow flames.
“That’s pretty significant,” Bill Donnelly, chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, said Monday. “If things continue the way they are, we’re going to have quite a fire season on our hands.”
That comes on the heels of last year, which had extreme drought conditions that contributed to one of the worst seasons for fall wildfires many can remember. Those conditions have continued, with the fire danger listed by the Forest Fire Service as high across much of New Jersey over the last week through Tuesday, although heavy rain expected Wednesday should change that.
Most of the southern half of the state is in either a severe or an extreme drought. The counties along the Shore, and the Delaware Bayshore, have fared the worst. Cape May County has endured a rain deficit of more than eight inches over the last year and three inches over the last 90 days.
Surrounding counties are in similar deficits, making conditions more vulnerable to fire when combined with the low humidity and high winds that have dominated in recent weeks.
“Jan. 1 we started off busy again,” Donnelly said. “And here we are, just finishing our second month, and our numbers are astronomical for the amount of fires we’ve had and the amount of acreage that’s burned.”
South Jersey’s weekend blazes
Indeed, last weekend fires broke out in Burlington and Gloucester Counties.
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In Salem County, officials say a fire torched about 50 acres in Pennsville. The cause is suspicious and remains under investigation.
In Camden County, firefighters from Gloucester Township and elsewhere contained a 40-acre brush fire that ignited around 9:30 p.m. Saturday near Primrose Lane. More than 100 firefighters and first responders from over 20 state, county, and local agencies were involved. Two homes were evacuated, but none was damaged, and no injuries were reported, police said.
The largest fire, in Hopewell Township, Mercer County, ravaged nearly 300 acres off Poor Farm Road, threatening 30 homes and four businesses before being contained on Sunday. The fire originated from a downed electrical line and rapidly climbed a grass embankment and hill, continuing to spread.
“Typically, 10 miles outside of Trenton you don’t see these type of wildfires,” Donnelly said. “But when you start to get these temperatures around 60 degrees, and the lower humidity, and wind-driven fires, this is what happens. That was definitely unusual for this time of year.”
‘All hands on deck’
Greg McLaughlin, the state’s administrator for forest and natural lands, said resources are being reallocated from various departments to address fire response needs. The Forest Fire Service operates on an $8 million budget. Gov. Phil Murphy has proposed an additional $1 million for the 2026 fiscal year budget.
McLaughlin emphasized the severity of the situation, stating that with “this excessive and incessant fire frequency and intensity, it’s all hands on deck.”
In November, Murphy declared a statewide drought warning as rainfall diminished, leading to the eruption of more than 500 wildfires that started in October into November. Water supplies from streams and reservoirs had dramatically declined, and Murphy described conditions at the time as “unprecedented,” marking the first drought warning since 2016.
The state remains under a drought warning, prompting the Department of Environmental Protection to urge the public to voluntarily conserve water.
» READ MORE: How you can conserve water as Pa. and N.J. drought drags on
Officials report that the lack of rainfall has severely reduced stream flows throughout the region. Firefighters rely on streams to create fire breaks, particularly within state forests.
“We anticipate staying in a … drought warning for the next several weeks,” McLaughlin said.