Crews make significant progress after 2 major wildfires spread at same time in Burlington County

BROWNS MILLS, N.J. - Two major wildfires are almost completely contained in one New Jersey county after officials say a recent dry spell has helped allow wildfires to run rampant.

Crews responded to the Brendan T Byrne State Forest for reports of a fire in the area of City Line Road in Browns Mills, Burlington County, Friday afternoon. Flames have since torched 850 acres, and is 90 percent contained as of Sunday morning with no structures at risk.

No roads are closed at this time, but the New Jersey Forrest Fire Service has asked residents to avoid the area as crew continue to contain the fire. 

An additional wildfire took hold in Evesham Township Friday evening, near Kettle Run Road. The Buzby Boggs Wildfire is 90 percent Sunday morning after spreading 700 acres.

Kettle Run Road and Bortons Road remain closed, along with the Black Run Preserve.

The fires come as skies across the region finally began to clear after days of being impacted by smoke from wildfires burning in Canada.

Earlier this week, firefighters were able to contain another wildfire in Jackson Township, New Jersey that burned 82 acres. 

Over the weekend, the Forest Fire Service announced complete containment of the 210-acre Flatiron wildfire blaze in Medford, Burlington County. That fire started just after midnight Friday and was burning toward 40 homes before crews managed to move the blaze away from the structures. 

Residents weren’t evacuated but were protected within their homes, some using garden hoses to help as crews worked in the backyards to conduct backfires and burnout operations, officials said.

Last week crews stifled a wildfire that burned 5,000 acres in Bass River State Forest which stretches across Ocean and Burlington counties in the Pinelands. The blaze, the largest in the state this year, had burned about 5,475-acres (2,215 hectares) since last Wednesday.