Severe drought conditions expand in South Jersey and rest of Philadelphia region

MONROEVILLE, N.J. (WPVI) -- Drought conditions persist throughout the Delaware Valley, including southern New Jersey, with a dry forecast for the foreseeable future.

There was an elevated risk of forest fires Friday with dry, breezy conditions.

Firefighters sprung into action in the afternoon when a fire sparked along I-295 in Burlington Township.

Gloucester County crews have been fighting them too.

"We're probably well over two dozen calls this week alone, so that's a significant increase on a regular week where we may not have any, depending on conditions," said Gloucester County Emergency Management spokesperson Andrew Halter.

Officials say in these conditions little sparks can turn into large fires quickly.

"We want to just remind the community to be mindful of what they're doing and this includes the discarding of cigarettes, ashes and things like that. Not having those open burns, minding the state forestry service, the warnings from local officials," said Halter.

The areas in severe drought in our region have expanded compared to last week according to the national drought monitor.

One of the places working extra hard to fight the drought: Exley's Christmas Tree Farm.

"The dryness has been our biggest challenge so we're irrigating around the clock to keep everything fresh," said owner Bill Exley.

He says the trees should still be green come holiday time.

Extra watering not only keeps the trees in good shape, it also protects the farm from fires.

Exley says just yesterday a neighboring farm had one.

"They were harvesting the corn and something sparked and it actually caught the corn fields on fire. So those are definitely concerns," said Exley.

In Delaware, a statewide drought watch was announced Friday.

The governor is asking residents to voluntarily reduce outdoor uses of water like watering lawns and outdoor plants.

A statewide open burn ban is still in place for Delaware and New Jersey.