Forest fire in New Jersey burns at least 80 acres near Appalachian Trail

HARDWICK, N.J. – After New Jersey's state Forest Fire Service mounted a full-scale attack on a forest fire burning on the western side of Mount Tammany, flames are mostly contained, according to New Jersey fire officials.

The fire, which state officials said was about 80% contained Monday, had burned about 80 acres. The fire ignited Sunday afternoon on the a steep area of New Jersey's Worthington State Forest and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on the New Jersey-Pennsylvania border.

When asked for his assessment of how long before the fire was completely under control, Chris Franek, assistant division forest fire warden said Monday, “We’ll likely be here through the end of the week. We’re hoping for rain.”

The National Weather Service forecast calls for rain for Tuesday through Wednesday night. To date for February, precipitation in northwestern New Jersey is about half the average of about 2.5 inches.

Franek said about 40 to 50 people from the state Forest Fire Service’s Northern Division worked in shifts to contain the fire on Monday. They were being assisted by employees of the NPS as well as from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The two groups often train together.

Also assisting with traffic on busy Interstate 80, which snakes through the Water Gap, were crews from the New Jersey Department of Transportation who were closing off state-owned parking lots for the popular Dunnfield Creek and Appalachian National Scenic Trail, another NPS unit, which run up the side of the mountain.

The fire was reported to officials about 2:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon, when many hikers were on the mountain – some of whom took pictures as they were told to get down off the mountain.

“I didn’t get the sense of danger,” said Knowlton Mayor Adele Starrs, who was hiking on the Red Dot trail Sunday afternoon with her three daughters, ranging in age from 4 to teenager.

“It was a beautiful day and the trails were really populated,” she said. As they were coming down the mountain about 4 p.m., she said “the smell of smoke was very strong.

“Then we saw the firefighters in their yellow coats using spades to put out the fire,” she continued. “They also had blowers getting the leaves away.”

She said about two dozen firefighters were there at that time who “seemed on top of the situation and had it under control.”

Starrs also noted that lots of people were smoking as they hiked.

Franek said that the cause of the fire “is under investigation.”

There are signs in both the state forest and the national park prohibiting “open fires of any kind.”

The fire warden said that 2 to 3 feet of snow would usually be on the mountainside at this time of year, and that it was unusual for brush and forest fires to occur in February.

He said the firefighters are using shovels, blowers and specially designed mattocks to control the blaze. He said they are also setting their own controlled burns to create a burned area which will stop the fire’s spread.

Franek said the fire was being fueled by leaf litter and “dead and down fuel,” especially dead hardwoods that were killed by gypsy moth caterpillars in past years.

He said some of the areas burning are inaccessible because of the rock ledges that make up the mountain.

Efforts to put out the flames included helicopters, both carrying water to drop on the fire, and to rotate firefighting crews. He said several areas on the top of the mountain area suitable for landing.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: New Jersey forest fire burns at least 80 acres near Appalachian Trail