Residents of 620 homes in Central New Jersey were allowed to return to their homes, after a forest fire was contained. Firefighters are battling a second blaze in the area.
High winds and dry conditions on Thursday provided factors for several New Jersey forest fires. Residents of 620 homes in Berkeley Township were evacuated and a school was closed early as a precaution, but residents were allowed to return to their homes by Thursday night.
Beachwood Ocean County NJ Forest Fire Air Attack Operations.
A wildfire erupted on April 24, 2014 just before 12:00 pm in Beachwood, NJ. Fire units from throughout Ocean County responded not only to battle the forest fire, but also to provide structural protection for homes in the wildland-urban interface. Air attack units from the NJ Forest Fire Service were also used to battle the fire.
Greg McLaughlin, division warden with the state Forest Fire Service, said early Friday that more than a half dozen fires — three of them involving large amounts of land that burned into the night. The first fire, as of Thursday night, was the only fire to threaten homes, and was known as the “Continental Fire” which began in Beachwood, traveled southeast and affected over 300 acres.
Fires have also been reported west of the Garden State Parkway, in Manchester Township, in Lacey Township, and in Franklin Township.
Good photo of Beachwood forest fire. Courtesy @kaylaxjean5 pic.twitter.com/D5i80PxLQN
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) April 24, 2014
April is fire season in New Jersey.
High winds and dry conditions provided fuel for several New Jersey forest fires, including one that forced the evacuation of more than 600 homes. CBS 2’s Janelle Burrell reports.
See also …
www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/fire
