Multiple Wildfires Burn In Camden County Town

WINSLOW TOWNSHIP, NJ — Multiple wildfires are burning in Winslow Township, officials said Monday.

The blazes broke out within a 10-mile stretch from the area of Berlin-Cross Keys Road to Ancora Psychiatric Hospital, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

No roads are closed, and no buildings or homes are threatened, officials said late Monday afternoon.

The Forest Fire Service has ground crews at the scene, along with an observation helicopter and a Single Engine Air Tanker that can drop up to 600 gallons of water at once.

Multiple local fire departments, including Winslow Township's, are also responding.

The fires may be detectable from surrounding towns, according to the Clementon Office of Emergency Management.

"You may see a large area of smoke in the sky, and also smell it," the agency said.

Spring is typically the state's peak wildfire season — especially in April — because of trees and underbrush still leafing out, relatively low humidity, and the frequency of windy conditions, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Heavy rainfall isn't enough to prevent wildfires, according to NJDEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette.

"In a changing climate, we are increasingly seeing dry conditions between heavy rainfalls, in what we have come to know as 'flash droughts,'" LaTourette said last week. "Despite the recent rain, wildfire risk remains heightened at this time of year, and public awareness of how to stay safe is paramount."