Risk of rapid fire spread remains in New Jersey, USA

as battle continues to control blaze 

Reports reaching Diaspora Digital Media as of Friday, April 25, 2025, suggest that a wildfire is still being contained in New Jersey, U.S.A.

Crews are reportedly still working to contain one of New Jersey’s largest wildfires on record.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned on Friday, that fire danger remains elevated across the state and into eastern Pennsylvania.

The NWS said:

“There is an increased risk for rapid fire spread this afternoon across portions of New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.”

It listed conditions that couls allow the fire to spark and spread easily.

They include:

• low humidity, ranging from 25% to 35%,
• warm temperatures and winds of 10 to 15mph and
• gusts up to 20mph (32km/h)

Highs are expected to reach the upper 70s to near 80F (27C).

According to the US weather agency:

This, paired with increasingly dry brush and grass, make it easier for new fires to ignite and “become difficult to control.”

Two other fires are already causing problems in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said the Thompson Hollow fire in Cumberland county had spread to around 1,150 acres (465 hectares) on Friday morning.

According to its report, it spread with 0% containment.

And a second fire, called the Hammond’s Rock fire, was also raging in the same county and had spread to around 200 acres.

The New Jersey forest fire service has issued high fire risk alerts across all regions of the state.

According to state officials, the Jones Road wildfire, had scorched roughly 15,250 acres as of Thursday night and was halfway contained.

The fire is said to have broken out on April 22 in southern Ocean county,

The number of structures under threat has dropped from 20 earlier this week to just four.

One commercial building was lost, along with several vehicles and smaller structures.

No injuries have been reported.

Prosecutors announced charges on Thursday against 19-year-old Joseph Kling of Waretown, New Jersey.

According to them, Kling failed to fully extinguish a pallet bonfire, leading to the wildfire.

Authorities allege Kling left the area while the fire was still active.

He was arrested and taken to the Ocean county jail, where he awaits a court hearing.

Looking ahead, AccuWeather forecasters say fire conditions may persist across the east coast of the US this spring.

The Guardian reports that this is due to unseasonably dry and warm weather, potentially reaching as far south as parts of Florida.

While no single weather event or climate disaster can be directly attributed to the ongoing climate crisis, a warming planet is seeing a greater intensity of disasters.

This includes wildfires spreading into areas not usually associated with them.

The New Jersey Pine Barrens, where the fire currently burns, is an ecologically significant part of the Atlantic coastline.

The pine forest ecoregion once stretched from North Carolina to Nova Scotia.

However, the area in New Jersey is now the largest remaining portion of this unique ecosystem.

The pine barrens are home to diverse plant life.

These include rare and endangered flowers, along with at least 34 species of mammals and 144 species of birds.

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