Rare East Coast Wildfire Threatens Dozens of Homes

Firefighters in New Jersey worked to contain a massive, 40-acre wildfire on Monday night before it consumed nearly two dozen homes in Burlington County, just east of Philadelphia.

The blaze, which New Jersey Fire Service officials have named the "Big Rusty Wildfire," ignited in the area of Hainesport, NJ around 6 p.m., ABC 6 Action News reports. By 9 p.m., forest fire crews had contained approximately 20 percent of the fire and moved it away from 20 nearby homes. Weather conditions were also in favor of the containment efforts, as it wasn't windy out.

Chopper 6 helicopter footage showed just how close the blaze got to the residential neighborhood, but no evacuations were necessary. Though, several streets were closed off in the area to provide fire crews with easy access.

"There have been no evacuations. No one has been injured and the cause of the fire is under investigation," said New Jersey State Forest Fire Service Chief Bill Donnelly.

Just before 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, agency said that 50 percent of the fire had been contained, while crews continued to make progress.

WILDFIRE UPDATE: Big Rusty Wildfire - Hainesport, Burlington County@NJDEPForestFire continues to make progress containing a wildfire burning in the area of Bancroft Lane and Cove Court in Hainesport, Burlington County.

SIZE & CONTAINMENT
???? 40 acres
???? 50% contained pic.twitter.com/ey2olabZML

— New Jersey Forest Fire Service (@njdepforestfire) November 19, 2024

Abnormally dry conditions due to drought combined with high winds on the East Coast have exacerbated wildfire risk, causing the National Weather Service to issue an elevated warning in several local counties Monday. Fire danger remains high across all of the state, as thousands of acres have burned across the region in recent weeks from New Jersey to New York.

However, much-needed relief will soon be on the way with rain expected to arrive in the region Wednesday into early Thursday.