Fire officials make significant progress fighting Jennings Creek wildfire on 5th day
The Jennings Creek wildfire is now 50% contained, as of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to fire officials. They say that the fire has burned more than 2,200 acres of land so far.
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The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has made significant progress fighting a wildfire on the border of Passaic County and New York state.
The Jennings Creek wildfire is now 50% contained, as of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday. Fire officials say that the fire has burned more than 2,200 acres of land so far.
“We are in active suppression of this wildfire…We did an overflight today and everything looks like it's burning really well, interior, on the New Jersey side,” said Chris Franek, of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
The fire, as a whole, spans more than 5,000 acres. But just under half of that is in New Jersey. Two houses remain threatened on East Shore Road. Officials say the eight historic properties in the Long Pond Ironworks district are now safe.
In New York, about 100 homes are threatened. Crews said the terrain in New Jersey was easier to work with, helping them control this side first.
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“We were able to secure the southern end of the fire a little more easily because of the road systems we had in play. Up on the New York end, the trail system is extremely steep,” said Franek.
Officials say that people will still be seeing smoke from the team’s “backburning” operation to remove more fuel on the New York side.
But in Ringwood, the ever-present smoke cloud isn’t helping local businesses.
“It’s a little slow. With all the smoke, nobody goes out unless they have to go out. You can’t blame them for that,” said Eddie Busch, of Alpine Deli & Pork Store.
Officials are also reminding people that, although things look better, now is not the time to come and get a better look at what’s going on. People are warned to keep their distance for both their own safety and the safety of the fire crews.
