Ali Reid reports from Evesham Township, New Jersey, where hundreds of homes are being threatened by wildfires. The state has faced a challenging season with drought and high winds fueling the flames.
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00:00Our Ali Reid was live from Evesham Township to talk about the ongoing issues.
00:04Within an hour after she was on the air with us,
00:08she got word a wildfire started just minutes from where she was alive.
00:14She's back this morning with the latest on the situation there and unfortunately,
00:18as Ari's been talking about, Ali, things are going to worsen from that perspective today.
00:24Right, Bernie, Ari, and now New Jersey is in a red flag warning,
00:31so we're just adding an additional thing on top of this.
00:33But I was live over at that fire tower yesterday,
00:36telling you guys how important it is to have crews right now manning those locations,
00:41because they're able to spot these fires so quickly.
00:45And the fire tower that I was at yesterday was able to spot this fire today.
00:50Now, yesterday there was over 100 homes threatened.
00:53That still continues in today, but now they have at least the fire 50% contained.
00:59Take a listen.
01:00Just after nine Thursday morning, a fire observer detected a wildfire
01:04growing rapidly in Evesham Township, New Jersey, from a fire tower.
01:08It's the same fire tower I reported live from that very morning,
01:12sharing with our viewers the importance of crews manning those locations.
01:17A lot of these fires have been able to be picked up so quickly
01:21because of the crews in these fire towers.
01:23So they are doing a great job.
01:26The fire threatened homes within minutes.
01:28The fire was about 10 to 15 acres upon arrival, which is pretty large
01:33with that short amount of time that the fire was burning until we found it.
01:36Initially off the bat, structurally quick threatened,
01:39so the fire was very close to the houses.
01:41A number of homes were evacuated.
01:43Conditions have been unrelentingly dry, warm and windy,
01:48creating a perfect storm for this wildfire and others.
01:51Leaves have begun to fall, further feeding the flames.
01:55We've had 400 fires statewide in the month of October alone.
02:00That's a record number of fires that this agency has responded to
02:05in over 100 year history that we've had.
02:07The ongoing dry spell is prompting officials to urge residents
02:11to take extra precautions around their homes.
02:14Move away the combustibles that are next to your homes.
02:17So whether that be shrubbery that's dead or not watered or leaves or firewood,
02:24get the pine needles and the leaves out of your gutters,
02:26the pine needles and leaves off your decks.
02:28Move all those combustibles, mulches, leaves, pine needles,
02:32twigs, branches away from your home.
02:34And in battling the flames, the Forest Fire Service is using a range of strategies,
02:38including creating fire breaks and taking advantage of natural barriers.
02:42They're confident that through careful planning and immediate attacks,
02:46crews can keep these wildfires under control.
02:52Now, the location that I'm live at this morning is the location yesterday
02:56where fire crews from across the county came together to come up with a solid plan
03:01on how they were going to attack this fire.
03:03We know, as I've been talking about,
03:05this is not the only wildfire burning right now in New Jersey.
03:08Yesterday, three wildfires ended up popping up.
03:10So this has been an ongoing issue here.
03:12Again, Ari, Bernie, talking about the red flag warning,
03:15that is going to be a major problem today for flare-ups all across the state.
03:19So that's something that we're going to be keeping an eye on nonetheless here.
03:23And I know, Ali, I'm sure these fires are under investigation,
03:26but Ari and I were just talking off camera.
03:28How did they start?
03:29Is there any idea?
03:30Was it human?
03:31Was there some kind of other event that sparked them?
03:34Well, the percentage here in New Jersey for wildfires that are started by human
03:44is nine out of ten times.
03:46So the likeliness of it starting because of someone in this area is very likely.
03:52Unfortunately, we don't have the answer for that just yet.
03:54Bernie, you made the point yesterday.
03:56You have the leaves, the dry, just really adding into all of this.
04:00So who knows what it'll be just yet.
04:02They did have people here on scene yesterday working to figure out
04:05how this fire may have started.