SATURDAY UPDATE: The wildfire in West Milford is 100% contained, fire officials say. Original story is below.
Officials in Passaic County say that they have made significant progress on containing a wildfire in West Milford.
As of 8:30 p.m. Friday, crews had the fire 95% contained, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. Officials say that they are confident that the fire will be 100% contained by Saturday.
“Crews continued to reinforce containment lines on the ground and by air. Ground crews made excellent progress addressing burning dead trees threatening containment lines across the area of the fire. Containment is expected to continue as crews work overnight,” the Forest Fire Service wrote on Twitter.
About 970 acres of land has been impacted. At the height of the fire, 10 structures were threatened, and one had to be evacuated. But officials say that there are no longer any threats to buildings and that all evacuation orders have been lifted.
Echo Lake Road remains closed between Route 23 and Macopin Road. Officials say that the fire has weakened or killed many trees that now pose a threat to the roadway.
This is the largest wildfire seen in northern New Jersey in the last decade.