West Milford wildfire burns 2,000 acres, 0% contained

The impact in New Jersey came as the weather changed the fire’s course.

Tom Krosnowski

Nov 10, 2024, 3:21 AM

Updated 12 days ago

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New Jersey’s biggest wildfire of the season continued to threaten nearby homes in West Milford after crossing over the New York border on Saturday.
The Forest Fire Service said the fire was still 0% contained with 2,000 acres burned across New Jersey and neighboring Orange County, New York.
“Our concern for our agency right now is the fire we have going up in West Milford,” said Chief Brian Donnelly. “That's going to be the biggest one this year so far.”
The blaze is mainly impacting forestland, but two residential structures are threatened along with eight in the Long Pond Ironworks Historic District. None had been evacuated as of Saturday night.
The impact in New Jersey came as the weather changed the fire’s course.
“Friday afternoon, the fire was pushing into New York,” Donnelly said. “Winds changed overnight and started pushing it back into New Jersey. We have a unified command between the New Jersey Forest Fire Service and the New York State Rangers.”
Helicopters doused this fire - along with one in nearby Pompton Lakes - with water to try and stop the spread. It will take a change in the weather to reach full containment.
“We're not talking a rain shower or something,” Donnelly said. “We're talking inches of rain - a nice, slow, steady rain that can penetrate the ground. Because right now, the ground is so hard that you get a heavy shower, something's just going to run off the ground.”
Locals are concerned with how frequent - and how close together - these Passaic County fires have been.
“It makes me scared for my home,” said resident Victoria Kealy. “Also, for the people around and the air quality. The world is kind of changing with climate change and everything, and now it's kind of crazy that this is our norm.”
Several local roads are closed in West Milford, along with all the park trails. The next update from officials is scheduled for Sunday morning.