By JOEL BEWLEY
Philadelphia Inquirer (Pennsylvania)
Rain last week brought some comfort to New Jersey firefighters who protect the Pine Barrens, but they are not about to let down their guard.
“We can have a very heavy rain in the Pine Barrens, and two days later have a wildfire,” state Fire Warden Maris Gabliks said.
The problem is compounded this year because last month — with just 0.81 inches of rain, more than three inches below average — was the driest March in New Jersey since measurements were first officially recorded in 1895.
Add hikers, spring winds and rising temperatures to the dry forest floor, and the state’s 1.8 million acres of woods and forest are ripe for a wildfire.
“This is one of the most critical times of the year for us,” Gabliks said.
It was in April 1963 that the state’s deadliest forest fire killed seven people and scorched 190,000 acres in the Pinelands.
From January to April 2, the state Forest Fire Service responded to 664 blazes, an increase of more than 550 from a year ago. More than 1,600 acres had burned, compared with 147 a year ago, Gabliks said.
The fire service has 90 full-time employees, plus more than 1,500 part-time firefighters on call. Twenty-one fire towers, from High Point to Cape May, are usually manned from early spring to late fall, when the woods are dry enough to burn.
A fire observer can spot smoke as far away as 12 miles, said David Achey, a firefighter with the Forest Fire Service. If a fire is suspected, the next nearest tower is called to help pinpoint the location.
The section warden is then consulted, and firefighters race through the scrubby pines in large pickup trucks equipped with 300-gallon water tanks. Bulldozers, helicopters and air tankers are called in if needed.
Municipal departments are put on standby if a fire breaks out near a home.
“Any wildfire in New Jersey could threaten somebody’s life or their property,” Gabliks said.
The Pine Barrens, spread over a million acres, tends to stay dry because the sandy soil does not hold water.
“We can have a very heavy rain in the Pine Barrens, and two days later have a wildfire,” Gabliks said.
The state intentionally burns hundreds of acres each winter to clear away leaves, dead trees, and other fire fodder.
A 140-acre blaze in Wharton State Forest last month was the largest this season. The cause is still being investigated.
In New Jersey, humans start 99 percent of wildfires. Of those, 40 percent are arson, Gabliks said.
Fires can remain a threat even after they are apparently extinguished, staying alive in root systems, as happened with the fire in Wharton, said Tom Gerber, a section forest fire warden in Burlington County.
Some relief should come in about a month, when foliage emerges and blocks the sun from reaching the ground.
But the heat of the summer will increase the threat again. The problems of the spring will return in the fall when the canopy is shed and becomes fuel on the forest floor.
“It’s a never-ending cycle,” Gerber said, “but this season isn’t going to improve until we get some significant rain.”