Fire burning in NJ's Wharton State Forest; Batona campground evacuated

TABERNACLE, N.J. (CBS) -- The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is responding to a 1,200-acre wildfire in Wharton State Forest.

NJFFS officials said containment crews were making progress and the fire was 40% contained Friday evening.

As a precaution, the forest's Batona Campground was evacuated by park police after the fire broke out, which the service is labeling as the Tea Time Hill Wildfire. The NJFFS said at least two structures, a residential structure and a hunting club, in the area, were threatened.

The Batona Trail is also closed between Route 532 and Carranza Road. There are additional local road closures in the forest.

Fire officials said they were concerned about how the weather conditions would affect their rescue efforts.

"It's hot. I think it's roughly 94 degrees. Humidity's up so a lot of wear and tear on the firefighters," NJFFS Chief Bill Donnelly said.

Firefighters also said the terrain is challenging.

"The fire is burning in a very rugged area of the Wharton State Forest. A lot of it is inaccessible to motorized vehicles and our fire equipment," Tom Gerber, incident commander of the NJFFS said.

Forest fires are declared "major" once they reach 100 acres in size.

According to Meteorologist Grant Gilmore, Friday's weather conditions are not particularly conducive to fires, with high humidity and a lack of a strong wind that could carry flames. However, parts of the state are under moderate drought conditions which began last week for the first time since December.

Even though we are still in the surplus for rainfall on the year, the heat over the last month combined with relatively little recent rain has caused things to dry out pretty quickly.

In 2023, more than 18,000 acres of forest were burned in New Jersey. The NJFFS responded to more major fires than they had in over 20 years.

The state's first major wildfire of 2024 was the County Line wildfire between Burlington and Camden counties .

While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, the NJFFS said 99% of forest fires in New Jersey are caused by people.