New Jersey enters peak wildfire season as dry stretch of weather begins
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service on Tuesday released new numbers as the state enters peak fire season and approaches the first anniversary of the Jones Road Fire.
New Jersey is entering a dry stretch of weather, and the timing could not be worse.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service on Tuesday released new numbers as the state enters peak fire season and approaches the first anniversary of the Jones Road Fire.
April 22, 2025, started as a warm spring day with just a marginal fire risk. What happened in the following hours in Ocean County led to one of the largest fire-related evacuations in modern memory. Could a Jones Road Fire situation happen this year? Yes, say experts.
“It doesn’t take long for a fire this time of year to get up and start running,” said Bill Donnelly, chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
New numbers released Tuesday show fires statewide through April 7 are down significantly compared with a year ago. So far in 2026, 201 wildfires have burned 154 acres. At the same time last year, 537 wildfires burned 3,600 acres.
But just last week, a series of eight fires along a stretch of Interstate 195 closed traffic for hours through Jackson Township.
“Going into the winter, we were dry; reservoirs were low. Groundwater wasn’t where we wanted it to be,” said John Cecil, of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Despite snowstorms, “a lot of that just evaporated off and didn’t necessarily melt and contribute to the groundwater supplies,” Cecil said, leaving New Jersey extra vulnerable during dry stretches of spring weather.
This year, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service will track wildfires using mobile mapping tools and a new fire tower and, for the first time, send email and text alerts to people who sign up on the DEP website.
Updates on high-impact wildfires will continue on social media accounts and will include important details such as size, containment, evacuation notices, threatened structures and road closures.
“With the limited rain in the forecast over the next couple of weeks, we are expecting to be busy,” Donnelly said.
