Fire officials have “ruled out natural causes” in their investigation of a blaze that’s spread to more than 7,200 acres of the Pinelands.
By Nicole Rosenthal and Michelle Rotuno-Johnson, Patch Staff
Posted Mon, Jun 20, 2022, at 7:18 am ET4 Updated Mon, Jun 20, 2022, at 3:52 pm ET
SOUTH JERSEY — New Jersey officials have “ruled out natural causes” in their investigation of a fire that’s spread to more than 11,000 acres of the Wharton State Forest as of Monday afternoon.
Shawn LaTourette, the state Commissioner of Environmental Protection, said the Mullica River Fire could spread to 15,000 acres before it’s completely contained. That would make it the largest fire in 15 years, he said at a Monday press conference.
“We’ve got to take our use of our natural resources very seriously,” said LaTourette. He and other officials mentioned several ways humans can accidentally cause fires but did not point to any specific one as the reason this latest burn began.
As of 3:18 p.m. Monday, the fire has reached 11,000 acres and is 50 percent contained. The fire was first reported Sunday morning, officials said. No injuries have been reported.
The forest fire service said its firefighters are setting backfires to assist in containing the fire, which is in the heart of the Pine Barrens. Wharton State Forest is the largest tract of land in New Jersey, encompassing more than 110,000 acres in Atlantic, Burlington, and Camden counties. Smoke could be seen as far east as Long Beach Island, the Twitter account LBIweather said. The plume was also visible on the National Weather Service radar.
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