NJ Firefighters Battle 5,000-Acre, Wind-Fed Forest Fire

A forest fire in the Penn State Forest in Burlington County has grown to at least 5,000 acres with very little containment as of Saturday night.

According to NJ.com newsletter, the fire was reported at about 1:45 p.m. on Saturday afternoon and grew quickly due to high winds. The fire has been dubbed the Spring Hill Wildland Fire.

The fire was contained to the woodland area with very few homes or other structures in its path, although some were threatened, the web site reported. Those structures were being protected by local fire departments while the wildfire itself was being fought by the state forest service, the web site reported.

Because of the smoke, which was visible for miles around, a section of Route 539, east of the fire, was closed.

Authorities told the web site that several fire departments from Burlington and Ocean counties were fighting the fire with the assistance of an air tanker making water drops and bulldozers creating fire breaks.