Wildfires burn 15 acres in Vernon over weekend
Vernon Two separate wildfires in Vernon kept the NJ Forest Fire Service working through the night this past weekend, closing a popular hiking spot and a few local roads while they burned.
The first fire, which started Friday night, April 6, was off of Route 94 near Heaven Hill Farm engulfing roughly 10 acres of the Wawayanda State Park forest, according to Kevin Drake, a warden for the state Forest Fire Service, Division-A.
The second fire, which began burning the following night, was just off the Appalachian Trail near the Vernon end of Barrett Road and burned over a 5-acre span. During the course of the weekend, Barrett Road and Karen Road were closed on and off while forest firefighters tackled the blazes, but both are now open.
Parts of the Appalachian Trail are still closed while the fire is still pronounced active.
Both fires are burning on a section of the mountain that is too steep and far from a water source to use conventional fire-fighting methods, Drake explained, But the Forest Fire Service has been using hand tools to dig fire breaks man-made areas of no vegetation or fuel for a fire that act as a barrier from the flames to the rest of the forest. These help stop the blazes from spreading.
Firefighters have had to work through the night to take advantage of the cooler evening temperatures, which aid them in containing the fires. Since there is no access to water that high up the mountain and there has been no rain to help the crews extinguish the flames, as of Monday April 9, the fires had not yet been pronounced extinguished and some Highland Lakes and Barry Lakes residents are still calling to report sights of smoke from smoldering trees.
We have done things to keep the fire from spreading," Drake said, "but now Mother Nature needs to run its course; we just need to keep an eye on it. This weeks forecasted high winds present a threat that the blaze could jump over a fire break, but, there is also much-needed rain in the forecast.
While the official cause of the fires is still under investigation, at least one local resident has suggested that since the second fire started so near the trail, a careless cigarette smoker could be to blame. This theory is plausible, according to the NJ Forest Fire Service Web site, which states that the current danger for forest fires is still high, and the agency says: Fires will start from a lighted match and spread rapidly in dry grass, slower with moisture. (Fires) will continue to spread until extinguished.
To check the current fire-danger level, visit the NJ Forest Fire Services Web site: www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/fire/.