NJ’s Wildfire Season Approaches, Is The State Prepared?

When most people think about New Jersey, they think of it as an urban or concrete jungle with some pretty epic beaches along the coast. You’d be surprised at the number of people that have no idea just how wooded certain parts of the Garden State’s beautiful forests really are.

With heavily wooded areas comes people’s new fear that got unlocked this year after watching California burn: wildfires.

Most NJ residents would be surprised to learn that the state saw more than 800 wildfires over the last year. Some even disrupted homes and small businesses. The state’s wildfire season is right around the corner, so it’s important that the state has a game plan in place, should we need one.

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Wildfires In NJ

New Jersey hasn’t really been known as a wildfire hotspot like California or the Southwest part of the country. Apparently, that’s changing fast. FEMA maps now show that in South Jersey in particular, certain sections are at an even higher risk due to the densely wooded areas that surround the region. Wildfires are so much more common now than in years past, and it’s only getting worse.

This is all due to record droughts and extreme weather conditions becoming more and more frequent. Dry vegetation, gusty winds, and harsh weather can easily escalate a situation from bad to worse in a matter of minutes.

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NJ SMART

To prepare for the 2025 wildfire season, Governor Phil Murphy has introduced the NJ Wildfire SMART program. “SMART” stands for safety, mitigation, awareness, response, and training. The program hopes to ensure that local communities, firefighters, and all emergency personnel are ready in case of this kind of an emergency.

After all, nobody wants to see NJ suffer the same fate as California. Anything that we can do to be prepared is 100% a priority.

Since the state is now experiencing hotter and drier conditions these days, we all should understand how vital it is to be prepared for any potential disasters ahead of us. Nobody wants to see widespread devastation in the Garden State as a result of an out of control burn.

10 Tips To Prevent Wildfires

Smokey The Bear said it best, "only you can prevent wildfires." Well, it's a lot easier said than done, Smokey. Great name for a bear trying to warn us about fire hazards, by the way.

In order to prevent wildfires, you have to first know how they can be prevented. Here are 10 tips provided by the Department Of Interior that will help you in your every day life, so you can enjoy being outside, camping, and having bonfires without it turning into a problem.

Here are their 10 tips, along with some simplified explanations from me.

Gallery Credit: Cort Freeman