Garden State Parkway reopens after being closed by 5,000 acre Pinelands fire
Officials had closed the Garden State Parkway between exits 38 and 63 until about 9:30 a.m.
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The largest wildfire of the season so far in New Jersey has reached 5,000 acres and its smoke and firefighting operations forced officials to close the Garden State Parkway for hours this morning in both directions near Bass River State Forest.
However, both the north and southbound lanes reopened about 9:30 a.m. Friday.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said Friday morning that it is working to contain the fire burning in the state forest near Allen Road in Ocean County. Firefighters had contained 50% of the blaze, which began Wednesday night.
No buildings are threatened and no one has been injured.
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which operates the Garden State Parkway, said in a social media post Friday morning that it initially had closed the toll road between exits 38 and 63 “until further notice because of reduced visibility caused by heavy smoke from the Bass River State Forrest wildfire and dense fog.”
Most major area roads have reopened. But the Timberline Campground remains closed as is the Batona Trail, a 53-mile path through the Pine Barrens, as it crosses through Bass River State Forest.
It is prime wildfire season and May was unusually dry. Officials credit a backfiring operation, or a fire set intentionally along the fire line, for helping contain the blaze.
It marks the second major wildfire this year.
In April, a wildfire tore through 3,859 acres in an area of heavily forested South Jersey that was rimmed by homes, businesses and military installations. It took days to contain and was dubbed “Jimmy’s Waterhole fire” by the state Forest Fire Service.
That blaze, which began in Manchester Township, Ocean County, initially threatened scores of buildings before being brought under control. No one was injured.
The current fire has been dubbed the Allen Road Wildfire. It began as a small brush fire Wednesday evening, growing to hundreds of acres while continuing to grow overnight, reaching 2,000 acres by early Thursday morning, then swelling to its current size by Thursday evening.
Bass River State Forest is New Jersey’s oldest state forest and opened in 1905. It contains the popular Lake Absegami Natural Area and is within the Pinelands National Reserve, a one-million acre protected area. It marks the southern end of the 53-mile-long Batona Trail that snakes through Wharton and Brendan Byrne State Forests.