Crews battle fire at recycling facility on Jackson Road in Camden County, New Jersey
Officials are asking residents to shelter in place after a fire at a recycling facility in Atco, New Jersey, is causing air quality concerns.
The fire in Waterford and Winslow townships in Camden County threatened 50 homes in the area on Sunday. Crews from 50 agencies in Camden, Burlington, and Gloucester Counties responded to the fire at a recycling facility at 225 Jackson Road just before 4:30 p.m., a spokesperson for Camden County said.
The fire is "significant" but under control, the spokesperson said. Crews will be at the site of the fire for the next 24 to 48 hours in order to fully "saturate the 15-acre site."
Voluntary evacuations were done around the fire's perimeter due to the high winds as the blaze continued to spread. A Camden County spokesperson said people who live on Anderson Avenue, Front Street and Sapling Way are recommended to shelter in place due to the air quality in the area.
Jackson Road is closed between Cooper and Hopewell roads because of the wildfire, Waterford Township police said on social media.
So far, no injuries have been reported.
"When this fire ignited today it had excellent conditions to spread and cause chaos for firefighters because of the clear forecast with high winds," Waterford Township Police Chief Daniel Cormaney said in a statement. "There was a tremendous amount of coordination and all of our partners from every level of government were helpful in containing this fire and saving life and property tonight," Cormaney said. "I want to thank the state fire marshal, the state police and the state forest fire service for their assistance and every other agency that came out today to help us contain and minimize this event. In addition, since this will be a prolonged fire, we are asking individuals to avoid the area for the next 12 to 24 hours."
The National Weather Service issued a special statement warning about the increased risk of rapid fire spread for a large swath of South Jersey, including Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Ocean, northwestern and southeastern Burlington counties and Kent County in Delaware. Low humidity and northwest winds, plus the continued drying of fine fuels, could rapidly spread any fire that ignites, the NWS said.
The New Jersey State Fire Marshall will investigate the brush fire.
