UPDATE: Fires Break Out Across New Jersey As Warnings Continue

UPDATE: The New Jersey Forest Fire Service and Burlington County firefighters are working to contain a 600-acre wildfire discovered in a rural area early Monday morning and currently burning in Tabernacle and Woodland townships in the heart of the Pinelands, according to a release from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). 

Approximately 60 Forest Service personnel have been joined by dozens of Burlington County volunteers to battle the blaze, which is expected to eventually cover some 1,000 acres, and to protect some 25 homes in the vicinity of the fire. Fire mitigation efforts have been employed around each of the homes, including use of backfires, to protect the isolated residences, which are situated in the woods.  

There have been no reports of injuries and no mandatory evacuations at this time.

“Our crews are working very hard to contain and extinguish this fire, and to ensure that area residents are protected,’’ said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, who toured the area Monday morning. “With current dry conditions and low humidity creating a high danger for wildfires, it is important to remind all New Jersey residents and visitors to exercise extreme caution to prevent wildfires at this particularly vulnerable time.’’

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning in effect until Monday evening. Wind gusts are expected to reach 40 mph later today.

The Tabernacle/Woodland fire was discovered just after midnight when a resident made a 911 call to Burlington County authorities to report a smoky odor. A state fire warden was promptly notified and soon discovered the ongoing blaze.

Personnel on the ground are using bulldozers and heavy equipment to create containment lines, while support also is being offered by helicopters and air tankers. 

There are two road closures in Tabernacle due to the fire: Sooy Place Road, near Route 563, and a portion of South Park Road.

___________________

Dry and windy New Jersey has been scorched by more than two dozen brush fires since Friday, and weather officials say the state remains at risk into this week.

The warm and dry start to spring has set the perfect conditions for fires across the state, Acting State Fire Warden Michael Drake told NJ.com.

Breaking News Network, which monitors scanners and sends news flashes to its subscribers, reported 18 brush fires between Saturday and Sunday. 

Three fires on Friday burned more than 400 acres in Camden County, and Drake told NJ.com that seven smaller fires had broken out by Saturday morning.

The National Weather Service implemented a fire warning on Wednesday, and it remains in effect in all of New Jersey and Delaware, as well as large portions of Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York. The warnings extend as far south as Southern Virginia and north into New Hampshire.

The "red flag" warning remains in place until 8 p.m. Monday, as low humidity and wind gusts of up to 40 mph are expected.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said in a release that in the state are caused by humans. It said that "wildfire risks increase with every new structure built in or adjacent to forests."

The number of wildfires had already been 25 percent ahead of the 2011 pace before the spate of fires this past weekend, with 359 fires burning 286 acres of land.

A fire was , a day after small brush fires in Teaneck. Another brush fire broke out early Monday morning in North Wildwood. 

There were wildfires over the weekend in Somerset, Ocean, Monmouth, Bergen, Sussex, Warren, Morris, Hunterdon, Middlesex and Cape May counties.