5 Years Ago: Fires Engulfed 520 Acres Of Berkeley, Beachwood

BERKELEY, N.J. — On April 24, 2014, two fires covered 520 acres around Berkeley and Beachwood. No injuries were reported, but 621 people evacuated their homes by flames, according to Berkeley Police Chief Karin DiMichele.

The day was windy and dry. Two sheds were destroyed, and the vinyl siding of a couple homes melted, but no homes were burned, according to the Asbury Park Press. Officials ruled that there were two fires: one accidental and one arson.

The "Continental" fire covered over 300 acres in the Pinewald section of Berkeley. A discarded cigarette butt likely started that fire, Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Larry Ragonese said in 2014.

The "Crossroads" fire off Pinewald-Keswick Road, which destroyed 220 acres, was ruled arson, Ragonese said.

More than 50 volunteer fire companies and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service fought both blazes that ripped through the Pinelands.

Beachwood police initially noticed a small blaze in a grassy area which quickly spread. That was the Continental fire. A number of cigarette butts were found in the area, Ragonese said.

“We were very afraid we were going to lose some houses with how quickly it escalated,” Berkeley Mayor Carmen F. Amato told the Asbury Park Press. “But the volunteer response was incredible and efforts by the Forest Fire Service was outstanding.”

Officials evacuated Beachwood's Intermediate South School as a precaution. In Berkeley, school buses could not travel on certain roads because of the response to the fire. Parents were called to pick up children from schools and worked together to carpool kids to their neighborhoods, the Asbury Park Press said.

All residents were allowed home by 10 p.m., the same time the first fire was declared 100 percent contained, the Asbury Park Press reported.

Conditions felt all too favorable for forest fires that day. Earlier that morning, 1,500 acres of land burned in Cumberland County, nj.com reported.

In the Berkeley area, Forest Fire Service helicopters began dropping 325 gallons of water on the fire per trip. Fixed wing air tankers contracted by the Forest Fire Service dropped 600 gallons per trip.

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