Due to much of the state being covered in snow during the month of February and with a goal of completing prescribed burns by March 15 looming, New Jersey Forest Fire Service crews are working hard to make up for lost time. Their crews started burning last week during the first good weather window of 2021, with a 9,000-acre goal for the weekend. The agency considers the prescribed burning program to be one of its primary tools to reduce hazardous fuels that that can increase the intensity of wildfires.
These photos were taken March 6 by James Douglass at a 2,300-acre prescribed burn at the Warren Grove Gunnery Range in the heart of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.
This year the NJFFS anticipates conducting prescribed burns on at least 30,000 acres depending on weather conditions. Most burns occur on state-owned property such as state forests, parks, wildlife management areas, and other government lands. The Forest Fire Service also assists private landowners and nonprofit organizations to meet their management objectives through prescribed burning.
In 2020, the Forest Fire Service completed burns on 18,854 acres of state-owned lands, 5,006 acres of other government-owned land, and 2,268 acres of privately owned property, for a total of 26,128 acres.
Hi, I’m not sure if I’m in the right place, if not maybe you can direct me. Sometime between December 2020 & April 2021 there was a small fire in my neighborhood because it is backed up by The Cape May National Wildlife Refuge I thought it was a prescribed burn. Today a neighbor told me it was an accident & “how lucky we are that our homes were not burned down”. I see trenching all around the blackened woods & I never saw a rush of fire trucks, which is why I gave a 4 month time span. Do you know? Where can I get a list of all fires & prescribed fires in my area? Thank you, Sherry