Firefighters in New Jersey are working to extinguish a wildfire that burned through about 1500 acres of the Wharton State Forest in Waterford Township, New Jersey Sunday and Monday.
According to officials, the fire was 75 percent contained as of 9:29 p.m. Monday.
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On Monday morning, crews gathered at the recently shuttered Atco Dragway, along Jackson Road, in order to coordinate firefighting efforts.
Wildfire alerts were sent out late Sunday, though officials said, there are no homes in the area of the fire and no one is expected to need to evacuate because of the wildfire.
On Sunday, firefighters were working to improve containment lines and were conducting a backfiring operation intended to help burn away fuel that could have fed the wildfire.
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The incident is the 13th major wildfire (at least 100 acres in size) in New Jersey in 2023, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. So far this year, there have been 983 reported wildfires in New Jersey.
"This is the most (13) major wildfires in one year in the last 10 years. 2014 is the next most at eight," a spokesperson for the NJ Forest Fire Service told NBC10. "We cannot attribute the amount of fire to climate change but, over the last 10 years, the number of acres burned per fire has increased. That might be due climate change making conditions more favorable to wildfires. Climate Central has a report on this topic."
This is an ongoing situation. This story will be updated as new information becomes available.
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