Firefighters making good progress battling wildfire in New Jersey Pinelands

BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Firefighters in southern New Jersey were making good progress Tuesday trying to contain a forest fire burning in Berkeley Township that has thus far not threatened any structures.

As of mid-afternoon, the blaze on the northern edge of the New Jersey Pinelands had consumed about 189 acres (76 hectares) or less than one square mile, according to Jeremy Webber, a supervising forest fire warden. The area, known as Fisher's Pit, includes largely uninhabited stretches of scrub pines and sandy soil, although several residential neighborhoods and a school are nearby.

The fire was 50% contained, and was being battled by 31 firefighters using 11 engines and a bulldozer.

The blaze broke out just before 5 p.m. Monday in an area not far from the Garden State Parkway near Exit 77. Although large plumes of smoke were visible from the heavily traveled highway, they were not interfering with motorists' ability to use the road.

Firefighters were initially rebuffed in their early efforts to surround the fire due to its “erratic” behavior, the service said in an online post.

That prompted them to concentrate on setting boundaries to contain it, and lighting small fires around its edges to deprive the fire of fuel that could expand it.

Its cause remained under investigation.

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This story has been updated to correct that the fire broke out just before 5 p.m., not 8 p.m.