Due to a particularly dry October, New Jersey – particularly South Jersey – has been plagued with increasing wildfires. While most MFS Students have been fortunate enough to avoid such dangers, some have experienced or seen them from a closer proximity.
According to Climate Central, “October was a historically dry month, with much of the Garden State seeing just a fraction of the rain that a typical October would bring.” October certainly was dryer, with 54 percent of the state assessed to be in a “severe drought” on Thursday, October 31.
The lack of rain and prolonged heat also led to exceptional dryness in the forests across New Jersey. As of Wednesday, November 6th, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) ranked fire danger in both North and Central Jersey to be “very high,” on a scale including “low,” “moderate,” “high,” “very high,” and “extreme.”
Even more alarmingly, the NJFFS ranked South Jersey’s fire danger as “extreme.” In all three territories, the NJFFS has banned agricultural burning and enacted a Stage 3 Campfire Restriction, banning charcoal fires and all other fires that are not “contained in an elevated stove using only propane, natural gas, gas, or electricity.” The ban serves to diminish the risk of uncontrolled wildfires in the dry forests.
Most recently, a fire on Thursday, November 7 broke out during the school day. The fire ran through Marlton and Evesham, spreading across 75 acres. The fire was zero percent contained as of 12 p.m.
Wooded areas, such as the dense forest terrains in South Jersey, are at greater risk for fires.
Abby Fog ’26, who lives in Medford, said, “Recently, there’s been a lot of smoke by my house. Two weeks ago, there was a giant fire in Medford and there was smoke outside for a week. My biggest experience was two years ago, when my backyard caught on fire and all of the woods behind my house and in the surrounding neighborhoods burned down.”
Luke Iacono ’25, said, “I was driving in [West Berlin], and I smelled smoke, and I thought, ‘Someone’s barbecuing.’ But I found out later that it was a forest fire.”
Maya DeAndrea, ’25, who lives in Haddon Heights, works with Saddler’s Woods Conservation Association, an environmental conservation organization based in Saddler’s Woods, a forest with old-growth portions located in Haddon Township. Old-growth forests, given their heightened ecological resilience, are able to defend against climate change, making their preservation especially important.
“Because of the drought, I have to go into the woods to water the forest plants two or three times a week. There’s no rain, so without [the organization] wheelbarrowing water into the forest, the plants can’t get the water they need, and the conservation projects can’t succeed,” says DeAndrea.
For now, New Jersey remains greatly in need of rain. As of Wednesday, November 6, The Weather Channel is claiming that there is a 42 percent chance of showers on Sunday, November 10, followed immediately by a 40 percent chance of showers on Monday, November 11.
Sources Referenced
Sol Warren, Michael, and Kaitlyn Trudeau. “Drought, Record Warmth Fuel Historic
Wildfire Risk in NJ.” Climate Central, 5 Nov. 2024, www.climatecentral.org/
partnership-journalism/drought-record-warmth-fuel-historic-wildfire-risk-in-nj.
Accessed 6 Nov. 2024.
“New Jersey Drought; Thursday, Oct. 31.” U.S. Drought Monitor, 31 Oct. 2024,
droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?NJ. Accessed 6
Nov. 2024. Map.
State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection. “NJ Fire Danger
Dashboard.” New Jersey Forest Fire Service, State of New Jersey, Department
of Environmental Protection, 6 Nov. 2024, www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/
fire/infotools/conditions-restrictions.html. Accessed 6 Nov. 2024.
The Weather Company. “10 Day Weather for Mount Laurel, NJ.” The Weather Channel,
The Weather Company, 6 Nov. 2024, weather.com/weather/tenday/l/
0bccf36779fc8ef921d613986d66884604c8c1d5f489d303ce7c110b7190799c. Accessed
6 Nov. 2024.
Brandt, Joe, and Brandon Goldner. “Evacuations, Road Closures in Evesham
Township, New Jersey after Wildfire Breaks out Thursday.” CBS News, 7 Nov.
2024, www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/
roads-closed-evesham-township-new-jersey-wildfire/. Accessed 7 Nov. 2024.
“10 Reasons To Save Old-Growth Forests.” Sierra Club BC, Sierra Club of British
Columbia Foundation, Dec. 2020, sierraclub.bc.ca/
10-reasons-to-save-old-growth/.
#:~:text=Old%2Dgrowth%20forests%20are%20one,like%20there%20is%20no%20tomorrow.
Accessed 7 Nov. 2024.
Saddler’s Woods Conservation Association. www.saddlerswoods.org/. Accessed 7
Nov. 2024.
