NJ Forest Fire Updates: 167 Acres Burned, 100 Percent Contained

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — While firefighters continue to monitor hotspots in the wildfire that consumed 167 acres of forest in Lakewood and Brick on Sunday, shutting down highways and causing major traffic tie-ups, authorities were expressing gratitude that the damage was not catastrophic.

“This was about as complex as it can possibly get,” said Shawn Judy, a division fire warden with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Forest Fire Service, as he described fighting the wildfire that burned pockets of forest that were surrounded by homes and businesses.

The fire was declared 100 percent contained Monday afternoon, state officials said. The freezing temperatures overnight Sunday into Monday aided efforts to contain the blaze, they said.

There were 29 homes that suffered damage, along with two commercial buildings, Judy said during a news conference. The heat from the fire melted siding, ruined fences and sheds and destroyed a boat, but no homes were lost, he said.

A firefighter remained in critical condition on Monday but authorities declined to provide additional details.

Authorities have identified where the fire started but were still working to determine what started it. Ray Bukowski, the DEP’s assistant commissioner for natural and historic resources, said officials were withholding the location until they have determined the cause to protect the investigation.

“We don’t want a bunch of people going there trying to look at the site,” Bukowski said.

Greg McLaughlin, New Jersey State fire warden and chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, said the service began preparing for the possibility of wildfires because the weather forecast early last week that called for warm temperatures and low humidity. Those conditions make the possibility of wildfires more likely.

That preparation paid off because the service had resources, including aircraft used to drop water on the fire, that normally it doesn’t have in place until April.

“We started the contracts earlier than normal,” McLaughlin said.

Sunday’s wildfire was an urban interface fire, because of the density of homes and businesses near the wildfire. Those wildfires are the most complex because of the need to evacuate people and maneuver equipment through developments, Judy said.

“The (Brick Lake Park) neighborhood was incredible about opening all gates so firefighters could get to the woods” to fight the fire, Judy said.

Because the pockets of woods are smaller, it’s nearly impossible for authorities to do the preventive work such as prescribed burns that are used in larger areas to control undergrowth. Bukowski said it had been about 40 years since there was any fire in that area, which meant there was 40 years of brush and pine debris, which McLaughlin said is the most volatile when it comes to fire fuels.

The fire did jump the Garden State Parkway, the result of embers carried by the wind starting spot fires. Some embers traveled as much as 1.2 miles, authorities said.

Bukowski emphasized the fire was not the result of prescribed burns, which had been suggested in some online forums. The state halted prescribed burns early last week to prepare for the red flag weather.

The fire happened as most of New Jersey, including Ocean County, is under a red-flag warning, which means that critical fire weather conditions are expected due to a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and dry brush and trees.

Any fires that develop may quickly get out of control and become difficult to contain, according to the National Weather Service. The red flag warning is in place through late Monday afternoon, with 35 to 40 mph gusts expected.

While the fire in Brick and Lakewood drew intense interest, officials said there were brush fires all over the state on Sunday. North of the Raritan River, the northern division of the forest fire service recorded 31 brush fires. In the central division, from the Raritan River to the Mullica River, there were 14 fires including the Brick fire, and the southern division, south of the Mullica River, had 14 brush fires, authorities said.

The Lakewood/Brick fire was spotted from the Lakewood fire tower at 1:40 p.m., Judy said. Officials realized very quickly that they would have to set up their defense at the edge of the Brick Lake Park neighborhood because of the structures. The distance from there to the fire was less than a mile, and McLaughlin said the fire traveled that distance in less than two hours.

In addition to ground efforts, which included setting backfires to burn toward the main fire and stop its advance, forest fire service helicopters scooped water from nearby Lake Riviera to help douse the flames.

Diane Dowlen captured one of the helicopters scooping water from Lake Riviera from her kitchen window.

Ryan Mack of Jersey Shore Fire Response compiled video that he shared with Patch of the firefighting efforts, which included hosing down businesses and putting out spot fires caused when embers from the fire landed in mulch and other materials.

At one business, embers landed in a pile of hay and flames spread to a nearby fence.

The fire also forced authorities to shut down all travel on the Garden State Parkway for more than seven hours Sunday, leaving drivers trapped by the shutdown to have to turn around in the northbound lanes or drive across the median to get to an exit.

Route 70 was shut down, and stores on both sides of the highway evacuated as the fire raged.
In addition to the state Forest Fire Service, firefighters from around Ocean County responded to the fire. The local fire companies were scaled back throughout Sunday night as containment increased, the service said.

Michelle Leonard of Beachwood said her daughter was driving south on the Parkway just before authorities closed it and encountered the fire.

"(There was) black red smoke, she couldn't see to drive. She had no choice but to keep going through it," Leonard said. "I just drove through it with her on FaceTime with absolute fear! Seeing the fire next to her car. She felt the heat!"

Leonard said her daughter's car was covered with ash and black soot when she got home.

Other motorists spent hours sitting on the Parkway after it was shut down, before backing up or crossing the median to get to an exit and get off the highway.

With reporting by Megan VerHelst and Tom Davis

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