A wildfire in New Jersey damaged dozens of homes

A wildfire in New Jersey damaged dozens of homes

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The fire damaged dozens of homes and destroyed at least two mixed-use buildings in the fire, but “no homes were significantly damaged,” the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said late Sunday night.

Residents who were evacuated from Brick Township on Sunday night were allowed to return home from 7 p.m., the post said.

As the fire tore through the Jackson and Brick Township area, about 50 miles east of Philadelphia, people who had not yet been evacuated Sunday afternoon began preparing to leave the area, the fire would spread further, according to NJ.com.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Roni Anderson, who said she saw a helicopter fly over the fire Sunday afternoon, told NJ.com.

Anderson said her husband decided to drive home from work in case they had to evacuate, but according to NJ.com could not even get around.

Instead, she told the publication, her husband parked his car at a store and walked home. The couple packed their important documents and photos in another care in preparation for evacuation.

The cause of the fire is being investigated

The fire was first reported in Lakewood Township around 1:30 p.m. Fired by strong winds, the flames jumped the Garden State Parkway, Maris Gabliks, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, said during a Sunday press conference.

Portions of the park road remained closed early Monday morning while firefighters continued to fight the blaze, a tweet of the Department of Transportation in New Jersey said.

While the origin of the fire has been identified, the cause is still being investigated, an update to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said. The agency said the cause was not the result of a prescribed burn.

Officials said in the update that two mixed-use buildings had been destroyed and that some additional structures such as canopies in the residential area had been affected.

As of Sunday night, the fire was at least 50% curtailed, Gabliks told reporters during the press conference.

Firefighters are expected to continue fighting the area throughout the night to fully contain the blaze.

Large wildfires are rare in New Jersey

The national weather service issued an advice late Sunday afternoon on the warning and wind of the Red Flag in the area and warned of ‘critical fire conditions’ due to strong winds up to 50 km / h and low relative humidity.

The warning and wind advice remain in effect until 5pm and midnight respectively.

“Bigger wildfires are unusual or rare for NJ,” CNN meteorologist Michael Guy said. A combination of very low humidity and warm temperatures in the environment could contribute to the spread.

“We have exceptionally strong winds with low humidity that help the fire grow, but also hamper the ability of the firefighters to contain the fire,” Gabliks said.

CNN’s Ganesh Setty, Joe Sutton and Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this report.

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