The New Jersey Forest Fire Service tweeted Wednesday night that the wildfire that has burned nearly 4,000 acres is now 75% controlled and roads can reopen.
The fire that started in Manchester Township on Tuesday night has burned 3,859 acres, according to officials. At 9 p.m., all of the roads that had been closed because of the fire would be opened again.
The service said that its workers will continue to work in several places and asked people to be careful when moving through smoke because firefighters may be working on the side of the road.
The forest service said that the fire is still being looked into.
The fire happened as the Northeast is experiencing record-high temperatures.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service says that this one fire has burned more than half of the average number of acres burned in New Jersey in a whole year.
About 170 buildings in the Manchester Township area were evacuated Tuesday night, but all residents have been allowed to go back home since then, Manchester Police Chief Robert Dolan said at a news conference Wednesday.
Officials say no buildings were damaged and no one was hurt, but firemen have had to deal with “extreme fire behavior,” according to John Cecil, assistant commissioner of state parks, forests, and historic sites at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
“We saw a wall of fire with flames 200 feet tall and ashes falling from the sky. I don’t mean to be dramatic, but this was a very bad situation, and these men and women were able to keep things in place and keep people and property safe. We can’t thank them enough for that,” Cecil said.
Most of the fire was on federal, state, and private land in Manchester Township, but it had spread to the nearby town of Lakehurst.
More fires will start because of the record heat.
Temperatures will feel like summer until Friday, and more than 25 possible high records could be broken.
“Over the past few days, we’ve been under a lot of stress. This dries out the “fuels,” which are things like dry brushland, dead leaves, etc. Cameron Wunderlin, a scientist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, told CNN that we should have high pressure for the next day.
“This flow around the high drops the relative humidity to a very low level, and all the ingredients are there for fire weather concerns.”
As temperatures rise to the mid-80s this week in New Jersey and other parts of the Northeast along the I-95 region, the record heat will only make fire conditions worse.
Even at night, temperatures will stay high, making it hard for firemen to do their jobs. The coolest it will get at night is in the low 60s or high 50s, so you won’t be able to get much rest.
“The amount of moisture and the temperature are used to figure out the relative humidity,” Wunderlin said. “So if you have record high temperatures and low humidity, the relative humidity will drop below 30%, which is the level we look for to see if a fire is acting in an extreme way.”
With highs in the mid-80s, places like New York City, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and even Philadelphia could set new records on Friday.
If it gets as hot as the forecasted high of 86 on Friday, Springfield, Massachusetts, could break its old record of 77 by almost 10 degrees.
Winds will still be a problem, as steady winds are expected to stay around 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.
April is the most dangerous month for fires in New Jersey. In the past few years, the state has seen other big fires, including one that burned more than 13,000 acres just last year. In 2022, the fire was about 50 miles away from where the present fire is.
Read More: