State officials say fire risk is high, and they offer tips on how campers and smokers can prevent wildfires. Watch video
With a dry and breezy afternoon shaping up, another alert has been issued across much of New Jersey for an elevated risk of brush fires or wildfires.
The alert is effective through 7 p.m. Wednesday in these 15 counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem, Somerset, Sussex and Warren.
"You have to realize when the humidity decreases, it dries things out," said Jim Bunker, of the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly. "With gusty winds, that raises the risk for any fires to occur, especially out in the forest. The potential is there."
This is the third time in the past six days in which the weather service issued a fire alert in multiple counties across the Garden State, as well as in eastern Pennsylvania.
That's not surprising for early spring, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
"We're now just entering the thick of the season where we have the most vulnerability to wildfire," said Bob Considine, a spokesman for the environmental agency. "This is the time of year when you have a lot of tinder on the ground in the form of branches, leaves and needles and the trees are still bare, which allows the sun an easier path to the ground."
Safety tips to avoid wildfires
Campers, hikers and drivers should "take care not to provide an ignition source to the forest," Considine said. He offered the following safety tips:
- If you light a campfire (all campfires in New Jersey require permits), avoid burning on dry and windy days.
- Build campfires away from trees, overhanging branches or where you have a lot of forest litter.
- Keep your campfires small, adding the largest pieces of wood on last and keep them toward the center of the fire.
- When you're done with the campfire, drown the fire with water, stir the embers and then keep adding water or dirt until the fire is fully extinguished.
- If you're using charcoal briquettes, completely douse them when done. Stir them up and soak them again.
- Also, if you're camping, make sure to cool all lanterns, stoves or heaters before refueling them. They should be refueled on the ground in a clear area.
- If you're using any kind of equipment that can give off a spark, they need to have a properly functioning spark arrester to prevent that spark from going where it shouldn't.
- If you're driving past a wooded area, don't discard your cigarette out the window. And if you are smoking while walking in the woods, grind out your cigarette or cigar in mineral soil, away from any kind of brush.
Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.