Firefighters make progress in battling New Jersey wildfire threatening 55 structures

POMPTON LAKES, N.J. — Firefighters in New Jersey are reporting “substantial progress” in battling a wildfire that is threatening dozens of structures, one of a number of forest fires they are fighting in the state.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Forest Fire Service said Saturday afternoon that the fire in the Pompton Lakes area of Passaic County had been 50% contained.

The blaze is burning over 162 acres (65 hectares) and is threatening 55 structures, although no evacuations have been ordered. The blaze earlier prompted closure of the right lane of northbound Interstate 287, officials said.

The Forest Fire Service was battling the blaze with fire engines and ground crews and a helicopter capable of dropping 350 gallons (1,325 liters) of water, officials said. Structures were being protected by local fire companies, they said.

Officials also reported Saturday afternoon fighting a new wildfire that has ignited across more than 1,800 acres (728 hectares) near the New York-New Jersey border in Passaic County's West Milford and Orange County, New York. The Jennings Creek wildfire was threatening two homes and eight buildings in the Long Pond Ironworks Historic District.

An earlier wildfire in the Bethany Run area on the border of Burlington and Camden counties in Evesham and Voorhees townships was reported 90% contained.

A blaze along the Palisades Interstate Parkway in Englewood Cliffs in Bergen County, across the Hudson River from New York, was reported 40% contained.

Firefighters reported 75% containment of the Pheasant Run wildfire in the Glassboro wildlife protection area of Gloucester County.

Prosecutors in Ocean County on late Saturday afternoon announced arson and firearms charges in connection with a 350-acre (142-hectare) Jackson Township fire that started Wednesday. They said it was sparked by magnesium shards from a shotgun round on the berm of a shooting range. Officials said firing that kind of “incendiary or tracer ammunition” was barred in the state. The majority of the blaze has been contained, officials reported Friday.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning in parts of New Jersey, saying gusty winds and low humidity could help spread fires quickly.

New Jersey has not received measurable precipitation in over a month, the weather service said, setting a new record.