Wildfire — Southeastern Burlington, New Jersey

2022-06-19 to 2022-06-21 · Southeastern Burlington, New Jersey

Event narrative

Reference the episode narrative for a summary of events. The start time of the fire is approximated. The end time is the approximate time that near full containment was achieved. However, residual hot spots within the containment zone burned for several days to follow.

Wider weather episode

A New Jersey Forest Fire Service spotter tower detected a wildfire in a remote section of the Wharton State Forest in Mullica Twp, NJ late in the morning on June 19. Unseasonably dry, windy conditions were present on the 19th, with relative humidity values near 30 percent and frequent wind gusts of 25 to 35 mph. These conditions, combined with difficulty in accessing the initial fire location, led to rapid fire spread. Following ineffective initial direct attempts at fire control, firefighters conducted backburning operations through June 19-21 to remove fuel ahead of the fire. Combined with gradually improving weather conditions, firefighters gradually achieved full containment of the wildfire. However, by the time it was fully contained, this fire burned an estimated 14,983 acres. This made it the largest wildfire in New Jersey since 2007. No structures were lost during this fire, though several were threatened and protected in nearby campgrounds. No serious injuries were reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1024629. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.