Campers warned not to light campfires this weekend due to extreme wildfire danger
Level 3 fire restrictions remain in place and that means for now no more ground campfires.
A warning for those campers this weekend - no fires are allowed statewide due to the extreme wildfire danger.
Level 3 fire restrictions remain in place, and that means for now, no more campfires.
“This week, we are on Stage 3, so we got a fire pit now that’s a propane fire pit,” said Patrick Hicks.
Hicks, of Burlington Township, is camping with his wife Tammy at Bass River State Forest. The Hickses spend a lot of time in the state parks and they’ve come prepared.
“Very, very dry. This is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Tammy Hicks.
Their newly purchased propane and electric stoves will take the place of the traditional campfire.
MORE: News 12 New Jersey Weather Center
“Going into this weekend conditions have gotten drier…it has not rained,” said Robert Gill, assistant division forest fire warden with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
The June 2023 wildfire in Bass River is still fresh on many minds. The fire scorched 5,000 acres.
“People in the state parks are very conscious of things like that. You don’t have a lot of clowns running around the state parks camping,” said Patrick Hicks.
Workers at state parks and forests like Bass River plastered warning signs of the restrictions at the entrances.
“I haven’t seen a cloud in the sky for probably two weeks. You don’t see the sky this blue for that long,” added Patrick Hicks.
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service tells News 12 that folks heading into the woods should treat every day like it’s a red flag warning day, even if it isn’t issued - at least until the region receives substantial rainfall.
