Forecasters warn of fire risk amid low humidity, wind gusts as Pine Barrens fire burns
Forecasters on Friday warned low humidity and gusty wind increased the risk that fire could develop across parts of New Jersey, Philadelphia and its suburbs and Delaware as firefighters continued to battle a vast wildfire in the Pine Barrens.
The National Weather Service discouraged any outdoor burning with low humidity, temperatures reaching near 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius) and southerly winds that could gust up to 20 mph (32 kph) across a swath of the Mid-Atlantic. There’s a chance of rain over the weekend in the region, where officials said fires also burned uncontained in Pennsylvania on Friday.
In its most recent update, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said about half of the fire spread over nearly 24 square miles (62 square kilometers) in the southern part of the state was contained. No injuries or deaths have been reported, but buildings have burned along with cars. Officials have charged a 19-year-old man from the area with starting the blaze that led to the wildfire.
Prosecutors on Thursday said Joseph Kling, 19, from Waretown, New Jersey, was arrested and charged with arson and aggravated arson, saying he lit wooden pallets on fire and left the area before they were fully put out.
A public defender representing him during the hearing said she had “nothing further” when asked by a judge.
“The New Jersey Office of the Public Defender cannot comment on pending cases at this early stage of the legal process, other than to remind everyone that individuals are presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law,” said Cristina LiBassi a spokesperson with the Office of the Public Defender in an email Friday.
Attempts to reach Kling by phone were not successful.
Authorities first spotted the blaze Tuesday morning from a fire tower when a smoke column appeared amid the pines. Law enforcement said they used a GPS to plot the origin of the fire and determined the cause was a bonfire that hadn’t been put out.
Speaking Thursday afternoon at a news conference, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said “we can confidently say that we think the fire was set intentionally.” He declined further comment on why authorities believe the man they arrested was responsible and other matters related to the investigation since it remains ongoing.
It’s forest fire season in the pinelands, a wilderness that encompasses more than 1 million acres (405,000 hectares) — an area roughly as large as the Grand Canyon. Firefighters are contending with low humidity and the aftermath of a monthslong drought in the region.
New Jersey is the nation’s most densely populated state and officials have warned the fire could threaten developments nearby, although parts of the Pine Barrens are uninhabited. The fire had grown to more than 23.8 square miles (about 62 square kilometers) on Thursday.
Officials said the fire is believed to be the second-worst in recent years in New Jersey, smaller only than a 2007 blaze that burned 26 square miles (67 square kilometers).
Jim and Lenore Thoms, who own a business in an industrial park near the blaze, called the fire “a very scary experience” and praised the efforts of firefighters.
“The firefighters were phenomenal, they saved this whole park,” Jim Thoms said. “If they weren’t around, the way things were going on, you might not have seen any buildings at all.”
The fire is roughly 54 miles (87 kilometers) south of New York City. It’s about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Philadelphia.
Some 115 miles (186 kilometers) to the west of Philadelphia in south-central Pennsylvania, firefighters battled two fires around Michaux State Forest covering a combined 2.1 square miles (5.4 square kilometers), authorities said.
A spokesman for Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said warm, dry conditions and winds made the fires difficult to contain, although no structures had yet been consumed by midday Friday.
On Thursday, New York officials warned of higher-than-normal pollution levels were possible in New York City, Rockland and Westchester counties, and in Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Officials said New Jersey’s fire is believed to be the second-worst in recent years, smaller only than a 2007 blaze that burned 26 square miles (67 square kilometers).
Video released by the state agency overseeing the fire service showed billowing white and black clouds of smoke, intense flames engulfing pines and firefighters dousing a charred structure.
The Pine Barrens sit between Philadelphia to the west and the Atlantic coast to the east. In the region with quick-draining sandy soil and trees with still-developing leaves, humidity remains low and winds can kick up, drying out the forest floor.
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Associated Press journalists Tassanee Vejpongsa in Waretown, New Jersey, and Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania contributed to this report.
By MIKE CATALINI
Associated Press
