Fire Rescue News- Massive wildfire burning near Chatsworth; fire crews hope to contain the blaze to about 1,000 acres

Monday, April 09 2012 @ 09:27 am EDT
Contributed by: CBrining
Views: 1,507

Posted: Monday, April 9, 2012 7:21 am

By SARAH WATSON, Staff WriterpressofAtlanticCity.com

Fire crews are on the scene of a massive wildfire near Chatsworth, New Jersey Fire Service officials said.

The fire is in the area of the South Park Gun Club, straddling the Tabernacle Township and Woodland Township border in Burlington County, said John Rietch, a fire warden with the fire service. The fire service hopes to.....Continue Reading

contain the blaze to about 1,000 acres, Rietch said.

Rietch said about 25 homes were threatened, but crews are working to burn control lines to attempt to stop the spread of the wildfire as it moves toward those homes.

Voluntary evacuations are in effect for those homes, but Rietch said the risk has reduced significantly since fire crews have established the control lines.

The fire was called in just after midnight and as of 7 a.m., Rietch said 44 firefighters were on the scene with 14 trucks. Four helicopters, including two air tankers, were preparing to begin flying, Rietch said.

Weather conditions overnight were not very helpful, he said. “In the evening, it was actually pretty windy and that was providing a little bit of a challenge,” Rietch said.

The region is under a fire weather warning and a wind advisory today. Smoke plumes likely will be visible throughout the region, Rietch said.

Rietch said he did not have information on how much of the fire had yet been contained.