Wildfire numbers already up for 2023 compared to previous years
Credit: (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) April 12, 2023: Charred trees in the Pine Barrens after the Jimmy’s Waterhole fire in Manchester Township, N.J.
By P. KENNETH BURNS, WHYY NEWS | APRIL 17, 2023
The Jimmy’s Waterhole wildfire in Manchester Township, Ocean County — which destroyed more than 3,800 acres and caused residents from about 170 homes to evacuate — sparked last Monday afternoon just as New Jersey entered peak wildfire season.
Experts say climate change is a factor contributing to longer wildfire seasons.
“Typically, we wouldn’t mark spring wildfire season until about March 15,” Greg McLaughlin, administrator and chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, said. “And then that usually ends when that deciduous vegetation leaves out fully and is full of moisture. That’s about the middle of May. But we’re starting to see fires happening in the early part of March, even in mid-February.”
McLaughlin adds that his agency had seen wildfires into late June and early July.
“We’re seeing this peak fire season that was confined to about a 2-3 month period extending into a 4-5 month period,” he said.
John Cecil, the assistant commissioner of state parks, forests, and historic sites for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said he is concerned about extreme fluctuations in the climate that make it difficult to prepare for fires.
For example, 2019 was one of the wettest years in recent history, while 2022 saw a prolonged dry period with little precipitation this past winter. February was the 11th-driest on record in the Garden State since records were kept, starting in 1895.
“We see these ups and downs; it makes it very difficult for all of us to be mindful of how we’re engaging with our homes and our yards and how we’re taking care of things,” Cecil said.
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