by Alison Mitchell, co-executive director, New Jersey Conservation Foundation
Despite recent precipitation, New Jersey remains under a drought warning. Rain and snowfall statewide have generally helped water supply conditions, but the accumulations are not enough. While fire restrictions have been lifted statewide, we still need more precipitation.
Since July, New Jersey has experienced rainfall well below average that has contributed to diminished stream flow, reservoir and groundwater levels. October was the driest month on record, based on observations dating back to 1895, with no rainfall recorded over the entire month. September was the third driest on record.
Studies show New Jersey’s dry spells are getting longer and hotter. With time, drought in the state will intensify, another side effect of climate change. Extreme drought translates to less water for animals and plants, and government-mandated water restrictions, as well as uncontrolled wildfires that affect air quality and threaten ecosystems.
A major factor in climate change is the massive release of carbon into the atmosphere that was previously bound up in fossil fuels for millennia. Drought fueled by changes in the climate is resulting in an increase in wildfires.
“There is no question in my mind that the land is drying up,” said Bob Williams, forester at Pine Creek Forestry LLC, a New-Jersey based forest consulting firm. “People can talk about weather patterns, but I know what I am looking at when I see the landscape.”
Williams witnessed an incident during a recent wildfire in the state’s Glassboro Wildlife Management Area that he says was a direct result of the drought. Fire came through a forest growing in organic peat soil, material that formed over the course of thousands of years from old cedar and maple swamps. The fire burned through a thick surface layer of pine needles and reached the peat soil, where it smoldered underneath the surface.
“I have never seen that in my life,” said Williams. “The real question is: Will the trees ever come back?”
Historically, fires have played a necessary role in managing the health and vitality of forests. Certain trees, insects, plants, and other species have adapted to forest fires that help regenerate the land and assist in the natural birth and rebirth cycle of forests. The New Jersey Conservation Foundation uses prescribed burns to promote natural-fire regimes in Pine Barrens preserves.
But the more intense, frequent wildfires occurring in drier conditions (like Williams witnessed) pose greater threats to humans and the environment, including New Jersey’s precious forests.
For well over a century, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) has been the agency responsible for protecting life and property, as well as the state’s natural resources, from wildfire. Fire Warden Trevor Raynor of NJFFS says he is grateful for the recent precipitation, but fires are still burning.
In 2024, New Jersey had 1,380 wildfires – burning more than 10,000 acres – with 12 “major” wildfires (defined as wildfires that have burned over 100 acres). The number of acres burned is not more than last year, according to Raynor, “but the frequency of the fires is higher this year.” More than 90% of state wildfires are caused by humans.
“Come this spring,” Raynor warned, “if we do not get that winter precipitation, we might be back to the conditions we had this fall.”
To learn more, please visit https://dep.nj.gov/ghg/about/carbon-sequestration/. To view current state fire danger levels and conditions and learn about fire safety, visit https://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/fire/.
