Gloucester County wildfire 100% contained after burning 191 acres, officials say

FRANKLINVILLE, N.J. (WPVI) -- The Scotland Run Wildfire in Gloucester County, New Jersey, was 100% contained as of 8 a.m. on Thursday, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

The blaze grew to more than 191 in the area of Pennsylvania and Proposed avenues before being snuffed out. New Jersey forest fire officials say a wildfire is considered "major" after it exceeds 100 acres.

Forest Fire Service crews said they will remain on scene for the next several days to continue to improve containment lines and address areas of concern until significant precipitation occurs to ensure public safety.

"It's definitely dry and that's certainly a factor when it comes to dealing with these fires," said Chief Bill Donnelly from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

Smoke is also expected to remain present until significant rain falls over the fire area.

The fire was initially spotted from the Blue Anchor Fire Tower at 3:34 p.m. on Wednesday.

Chopper 6 was overhead Wednesday night as crews were seen performing backfire operations to protect homes in the area.

Officials say the flames threatened 60 homes at its height on Wednesday night, but that number has been greatly reduced, and say all shelter-in-place orders are now lifted.

Mike Shellito watched as fire surrounded his home in the woods in Franklin Township. "We had fires popping up all through the night," he said.

He and his family were told to be ready to evacuate. "I don't even know what would've happened if they weren't here. And it's the speed. It happens so fast," he said.

Due to the rough terrain, firefighters said they weren't able to get close to the fire, so they had to create containment lines behind several homes.

Action News has been told that local firefighters used a number of tactics to keep the fire from moving into the neighborhood.

Forest fire officials say low humidity and a light breeze helped the fire move quickly.

They said firefighters have been very busy since late last year and say the state can really use more rain as dry conditions continue to fuel one fire after another.

"Our numbers are just off the charts again as far as the amount of fires. I think we're 4-5 times the amount of fires this time from January 1st this year as we were last year," said Decesari.

Officials are hoping for a break when the forecasted rain comes through the area over the weekend.

Crews fear there will be more wildfires to come.

"This time of year, you typically wouldn't have a major wildfire and we would get a lot of prescribed burning done. But the drought conditions, they're not allowing us to do that," said Section Fire Warden Jonathan Knapp.

After a historically dry late summer and fall, New Jersey is still facing drought conditions.

"The last six months were the second driest fall and winter on record," said state geologist Steven Domber. "And while we did receive some precipitation in the form of snow and rain over the winter, it was not enough to recover from the fall deficits."

State officials are asking people to voluntarily conserve water as springtime gardening and lawn care begin and to be careful with cigarettes, wood stoves and campfires.

"When it's time to get rid of your embers, make sure they're soaked and stirred real good, so depending on where you dump them, they don't cause a wildfire," said Warden Donnelly.

No injuries have been reported in the Scotland Run Wildfire and no structures were damaged.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.