VIDEO: New Jersey is entering a dry stretch of weather, and the timing could not be worse.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service on Tuesday released new numbers as the state enters peak fire season and approaches the first anniversary of the Jones Road Fire.
April 22, 2025, started as a warm spring day with just a marginal fire risk. What happened in the following hours in Ocean County led to one of the largest fire-related evacuations in modern memory.
Could a Jones Road Fire situation happen this year? Yes, say experts.
“It doesn’t take long for a fire this time of year to get up and start running,” said Bill Donnelly, chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
New numbers released Tuesday show fires statewide through April 7 are down significantly compared with a year ago. So far in 2026, 201 wildfires have burned 154 acres. At the same time last year, 537 wildfires had burned 3,600 acres.
But just last week, a series of eight fires along a stretch of Interstate 195 closed traffic for hours through Jackson Township.
