Strong winds fuel South Jersey wildfires, fire in Pennsville Township deemed suspicious
Strong, gusty winds helped fuel a series of wildfires in South Jersey Saturday night, one of which is under investigation as suspicious, officials said.
In Salem County, the glow of heavy flames lit up the night sky near Fort Mott State Park in Pennsville Township after a fire first broke out around 3 p.m. near Fort Mott Road. Thick clouds of black smoke could be seen in the air for miles, and Pennsville Fire Chief Mike Miller said it's one of the largest fires his department has seen in a long time
Miller added that the fire appears to be suspicious.
"The division of fire safety for the state, along with our fire code official and the Pennsville police are looking into that," said Miller. "The wind caused it to spread quickly to a point where we couldn't keep up with it."
The fire burned at least 50 acres before reaching 85% containment Saturday night. At the height of the fire, 12 homes were threatened, and between the wind and dry conditions, officials said several homeowners decided to voluntarily evacuate.
"My father called me and told me there's more firemen here than he's ever seen," Dean Cowley said. "Nerve-racking, but the fire department did a great job."
After several hours, firefighters were able to contain the fire, and many residents returned home. Cowley did not voluntarily evacuate, but said he's thankful no homes were damaged and no one was hurt.
"As soon as my wife and I heard we pulled over, we dropped to our knees, we prayed and God took the rest," Cowley said.
"Something like that is on everybody's mind after what happened out in LA. This is nowhere near the scope of what that was, but at the same time, if it's one house or 100 houses, we do everything we can to protect those residents," said Pennsville Township Mayor Daniel Neu.
Crews from Salem, Gloucester, and Cumberland counties responded, as did firefighters from Delaware. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly issued a special weather statement Sunday due to the increased risk of fire spread in southern New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware and northeastern Maryland.
According to the NWS, humidity and wind gusts "could support the rapid spread of any fires that ignite, which could quickly become difficult to control."
Officials note that some 50 fires broke out statewide, including in Hopewell and Gloucester townships.
"We're continuing just where we left off last year. Since Jan. 1 of this year to date, today, we're roughly four times the number of fires we had this time last year," New Jersey Forest Fire Service Chief Bill Donnelly said.
Much of that is thanks to the weather. A drought warning remains in place for the Garden State.
"We're taking the necessary steps so that we can be prepared to deal with whatever comes our way, but if things continue the way they are, we're gonna, you know, seems we're gonna have quite a fire season on our hands," Donnelly said.
Cause of Hopewell Township, Mercer County, fire revealed
In Mercer County, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said Tuesday morning, as of 8 a.m., the 293-acre wildfire burning in the area of Poor Farm Road in Hopewell Township was 100% contained.
On Monday, officials said no structures had been affected and both Poor Farm Road and Woosamonsa Road had reopened.
This progress comes a day after NJFFS officials said Sunday that 30 residential and four commercial structures were threatened by the blaze that broke out Saturday night.
"We were amazed when it came all the way down here. We didn't expect that," Debi Shaw, a neighbor in the area, said.
Backburning operations practically came up to Shaw's front door in Hopewell Township, where she's lived for 21 years.
She said she never once had something like this happen.
"It makes me think," Shaw said. "You know you sit there and you think about, 'What do I need to pack up if I need to leave?'"
Windy conditions quickly spread the fire after it began, New Jersey Fire Service Chief Bill Donnelly said.
Officials said it sparked after an electric line fell onto a grassy embankment.
"We're still dealing with a lot of these dead trees, or snags as we would call them," Assistant Division Forest Firewarden Eric Weber said. "They are a threat to the line."
Multiple local fire departments came to help with the cross-county effort, a fight that Donnelly said is becoming increasingly common.
On Monday, crews continued to monitor the area for any hot spots.
"We're doing the research, but we're pretty sure this may be the first major fire in Mercer County history," Weber said.
Neighbors said they are grateful for the firefighters.
"We truly appreciate all of our local hero firefighters as well as everyone who came from all over the state," Michele Niederer, of Hopewell Township, said.
Weber said the smoke from this fire won't dissipate until the area sees significant rain. The next NJFFS update is expected at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Dozens battle brush fire in Gloucester Township, Camden County
In Gloucester Township, about 100 firefighters from more than 20 state, local and county agencies worked to put out a large brush fire near Erial Road and Primrose Lane Saturday night. Police Chief David Harkins said strong winds helped stoke the fire, which started around 9:30 p.m.
Harkins said no buildings were damaged and the flames were mostly contained to about 40 acres of brush and wooded areas. The fire was brought under control around 11:15 p.m., though officials said crews would stay on scene to put out any hot spots.
In an update Sunday, police said two homes were temporarily evacuated out of precaution, but the residents were able to return home.
The cause of the fire is being investigated by Gloucester Township police and the New Jersey State Fire Marshal's Office.
