The Murphy Administration today urged the public to continue exercising wildfire awareness and practicing water conservation as drought conditions persist entering the spring, which is peak wildfire season in New Jersey and a time when demand for water for landscaping, gardening, and lawn care increases across the state.
New Jersey remains under an official drought warning and enters spring following minimal precipitation in the fall coupled with the third-driest January on record and well-below average precipitation throughout the winter.
While precipitation in February was nearly normal, it was not enough to fully replenish reservoirs and groundwater. These conditions have also dramatically increased spring wildfire risk and severely hampered efforts by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Forest Fire Service to conduct prescribed fire operations that are critical to preventing wildfires. Typically, the Forest Fire Service targets 25,000 acres of forest, grasslands and marshlands for treatments with prescribed fire. Persistent dry conditions, however, have significantly limited this work with 1,707 acres of grasslands and six acres of forest being treated to date – a historic low.
“Our forests are very dry, and our precious drinking water sources remain stressed from lack of precipitation,” said Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette. “As we head into spring following a very dry fall and winter, we must all do our part to prevent wildfires and reduce water use, especially when gardening, landscaping, and caring for our lawns.”
All regions of New Jersey have been under drought warning since Nov. 13, 2024, meaning residents are strongly urged to voluntarily conserve water. The Department is coordinating with water systems to ensure they are using all available sources to increase supplies for the spring season. If conditions do not improve, the next step could be the declaration of a drought emergency, which carries mandatory restrictions. The last statewide drought emergency was declared in March 2002 and lifted in January 2003.
In response to the ongoing conditions, the Administration has launched the NJ Wildfire SMART (Safety, Mitigation, Awareness, Response, Training) public safety awareness initiative. A separate spring conservation outreach campaign launched this week ahead of peak irrigation season provides tips on how to reduce water usage when gardening, landscaping, and preparing lawns. For information on the campaign and toolkits, visit DEP’s Every Drop Counts website.
Governor Murphy has also proposed a $1 million increase in the Forest Fire Service budget to enhance protection of property and lives amid a significant increase in wildfires.
“The increase in funding that Governor Murphy has proposed for the Forest Fire Service will be critical to providing the Forest Fire Service with the resources they need to respond quickly, safeguard lives and property, and reduce the risk of future catastrophic wildfires,” said John Cecil, DEP’s Assistant Commissioner for State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites. “As we enter the height of wildfire season, it is more important than ever for all of us to work together to minimize risks to our communities and natural resources.”
Prolonged Dry Conditions
Drought can be defined across a spectrum of conditions and impacts. Meteorological drought occurs when dry weather patterns dominate an area. Soil moisture droughts are a function of dry weather patterns in combination with temperatures, soil types, and time of year, and they impact plants and crops.
Water supply droughts relate to reduced and stressed drinking water supply sources. Meteorological and soil moisture drought can begin and end rapidly, while water supply drought takes much longer to develop and then recover from.
February saw average precipitation across most of the state, but the state experienced below-average precipitation from September 2024 through January 2025. During the past 90 days, precipitation has been up to 1.7 inches below normal in parts of the state.
Even more concerning, all regions of the state are between 26 percent to 50 percent below normal precipitation over the past 180 days, with deficits ranging up to nearly 10 inches. The stress is being felt in the reservoir systems that serve the densely populated northern and coastal regions of the state. For current trends, visit dep.nj.gov/drought/current-conditions/#reservoir-levels.
While there have been slight improvements in meteorological drought conditions, New Jersey’s water supplies have not fully recovered from the impacts of longer-term precipitation deficits. Weekly updates on New Jersey’s drought warning status may be found at www.njdrought.org
“The DEP continues to closely monitor drought conditions that began late last summer that have placed stresses on reservoirs and groundwater supplies across the state,” said State Geologist Steven Domber. “The DEP uses region-specific indicators to gauge the impacts that significantly reduced precipitation has had on water supplies. These include reservoir levels, stream flows, and levels in shallow groundwater sources, known as unconfined aquifers, which are important in the longer-term replenishment of streams and reservoirs.”
Drought and Wildfire Preparedness
During a Feb. 13 roundtable with local officials in the wildfire-prone Pinelands region, Governor Phil Murphy and Commissioner LaTourette announced a series of actions dubbed NJ Wildfire SMART to emphasize the importance of collaborative approaches and public awareness to protect lives, properties, and communities from wildfire risks. Following the meeting, the Administration proposed an increase of $1 million in funding for wildfire preparedness and suppression in the budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which begins July 1, 2025.
The Forest Fire Service has responded to a marked increase in wildfires since the onset of the state’s abnormally dry period in September 2024, which saw one of the busiest fall wildfire seasons on record, with 798 wildfires burning 4,847 acres. And since Jan. 1, the Forest Fire Service has responded to 381 wildfires statewide burning a total of 1,242 acres – a 266 percent increase in wildfires compared to the same period last year. Three of these wildfires were classified as “major wildfires,” each burning more than 100 acres.
The first fire was in the area of Fort Mott Road in Pennsville Township, Salem County, burning 377 acres before containment on March 1. The second, also on March 1, was in the area of Poor Farm Road in Hopewell Township, Mercer County, burned 293 acres and became the largest wildfire in Mercer County since the Forest Fire Service began keeping records in 1906. The third wildfire occurred on March 12 in Franklin Township, Gloucester County, threatening 60 homes and burning 191 acres before being contained the next morning. The causes of these fires remain under investigation.
Spring Wildfire Conditions and Prescribed Fires
Mid-March to Mid-May is typically peak wildfire season in New Jersey. At this time of year, trees and underbrush are still leafing out, relative humidity is generally low, and windy days are common. The combination of these factors means forested lands dry out quickly, particularly in the Pinelands of southern New Jersey. The sandy and porous soils in this vast region do not retain moisture for long, exacerbating drying and increasing the potential for a fire to spark only hours after rainfall.
In addition to leading to an early start to the season, the drought has had a significant impact on the ability of the Forest Fire Service to conduct prescribed fire operations over the winter. The application of prescribed fire is the practice of purposely setting fire to forests, grasslands and marshlands under well-defined and strategically planned conditions to achieve land management objectives, including reducing fuels that can exacerbate wildfires and managing healthy ecosystems. Through prescribed fire, the Forest Fire Service reduces risk to New Jersey residents, visitors, property and the environment.
“Prescribed fire plays a critical role in reducing wildfire risks, but persistent dry conditions have made it increasingly difficult to implement prescribed fire at the intended scale,” said Bill Donnelly, State Firewarden and Chief of the Forest Fire Service. “Despite the challenges, the Forest Fire Service remains focused on utilizing all available tools to protect New Jersey’s communities.”
Wildfire Risk Resources
Information about wildfire risks and mitigation has become especially critical for people who live within or next to forested areas, also known as the wildland-urban interface. The Forest Fire Service continues to develop and enhance information tools in support of fire mitigation and detection:
- The New Jersey Wildfire Risk Assessment Portal compiles data and resources to assist residents, community leaders and fire professionals in taking actions to mitigate the threat of wildfire risk around their property and in their community. Wildfire intensity modeling data and preparedness resources presented in the portal were developed by the nation’s wildfire experts, with Forest Fire Service personnel providing practical and local information, such as the impact of forest management practices on wildfire risk.
- The NJ Fire Danger Dashboard is updated frequently by the Forest Fire Service as conditions dictate. These updates include a fire danger rating by county, a color-coded index of different fire danger ratings and a snapshot view of risk by county. The dashboard also displays any current campfire restrictions that may be implemented depending on fire weather conditions such as high winds or prolonged dry periods.
Immediate Information on Wildfires
In addition to these online resources, the Forest Fire Service is committed to issuing timely social media updates to inform the public and media about developing and ongoing wildfires classified as major or as complex incidents.
Major wildfires are defined as at least 100 acres in size. Fires smaller than 100 acres that result in road closures, threaten structures, or otherwise impact developed properties are known as complex incidents.
In the event of either a major wildfire or a complex smaller fire, real-time updates will be posted on the Forest Fire Service’s Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts. Posts will provide essential information including the wildfire’s size, containment status, road closures, evacuations and types of resources responding to the fire. Posts will also include the approximate time of the next expected update.
Wildfire Prevention Tips
Most wildfires can be avoided by adhering to commonsense safety tips:
- Don’t discard cigarettes, matches or smoking materials on the ground.
- Use indoor wood stoves and fireplaces carefully – both can emit embers that spark fires. Fully douse ashes with water before disposal.
- When towing a trailer, ensure chains are not dragged on the road, which can create sparks that fly into nearby vegetation, igniting a wildfire.
- Be mindful of where you park or drive your vehicle. Hot exhaust systems can ignite dry vegetation if parked or driven over.
- Be careful when cutting grass or using yard tools. Power tools like lawnmowers and chainsaws can throw off sparks that ignite dry grass or leaves.
- Keep matches and lighters away from children and teach youth about fire safety. Children can learn about wildfire safety with Smokey Bear’s mobile game Smokey’s Scouts.
- Contact your nearest Forest Fire Service office about how to obtain a Campfire Permit.
To learn more about wildfires in New Jersey, steps to protect property, and other resources, visit www.njwildfire.org
Like the Forest Fire Service’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NJForestFireService/
Follow the Forest Fire Service on X (formerly Twitter) @njdepforestfire and Instagram @newjerseyforestfire