South Jersey Wildfire Triples In Size, Reaching 300 Acres

Editor's note: Click here for more recent coverage of the wildfire.

WHARTON STATE FOREST, NJ — A wildfire has tripled in size within hours, but crews made progress on controlling the Wharton State Forest blaze, officials said.

The County Line Wildfire reached 300 acres and 40 percent containment as of 3 p.m. Wednesday, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. It totaled 100 acres in the late morning but hadn't been contained.

The fire includes portions of Waterford Township in Camden County and Shamong Township, Burlington County.

No homes or buildings are threatened, officials said. People in the area might see or smell smoke, according to the Winslow Township Fire Department.

Jackson Road has been shut down from Tremont Avenue to Atsion Road. The Goshen Campground has been evacuated and remains closed. Burnt Mill Trail, Goshen Pond Trail and Sleeper Creek Trail are also closed.

The Forest Fire Service has responded with ground crews and an observation helicopter. Containment efforts include a backfire operation — a blaze set deliberately to shift a wildfire's direction and consume fuel in its path.

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 (NJDEP), which oversees the Forest Fire Service.

Last week, a passing train sparked a cluster of wildfires, which spread throughout a 10-mile stretch of Winslow Township, Camden County. Conrail, the company that operates the train, must reimburse the Forest Fire Service for the cost of responding to the blazes, an NJDEP spokesperson told Patch. Read more: Train Company Must Pay For Wildfire Response In Camden County

Ninety-nine percent of New Jersey's wildfires are human-caused, according to the Forest Fire Service. Climate change has and will continue to increase the size and frequency of wildfires, along with the length of wildfire season, according to multiple studies cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Wharton, New Jersey's largest state forest, encompasses more than 110,000 acres of the Pinelands divided between Burlington, Camden and Atlantic counties.

This is a developing story. Patch will update as more information becomes available.