White smoke was seen billowing into the dry air during a wildfire in New Jersey’s Burlington and Camden counties on Thursday.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service first reported the blaze, later known as the Bethany Run Wildfire, around 10 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2024, in the area of ​​Kettle Run Road and Sycamore Boulevard in Marlton.

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“The New Jersey Wildfire Service remains on scene of the wildfire burning on the border of Burlington and Camden counties in Evesham and Voorhees counties,” the wildfire agency said in an update early Thursday afternoon.

The 300-acre fire was 50% contained as of 7:45 p.m. Thursday and threatened at least 104 structures in Evesham and Voorhees counties, the forestry fire department said, while warning people to stay away from the area. Fire trucks could be seen near houses.

Officials said Sycamore Boulevard and Kettle Run Road from Braddock Mill Road to Hopewell Road were closed. Access to Sturbridge Lakes Development has been denied.

As of 18:30 on Thursday, all evacuation orders were lifted.

The fire department said some of the firefighting efforts included fire trucks, bulldozers, ground crews and “a helicopter capable of dropping 350 gallons of water at a time.”

“Forest Fire crews are constructing fire lines and working to stop the fire from advancing by strategically utilizing a flashback operation to eliminate fuels ahead of the main body of the fire.” the agency said in a social media post..

The cause of the fire continues to be investigated.

Smoke fills the air over New Jersey as crews work hard to extinguish three massive wildfires. The wildfire burning on the border of Camden and Burlington counties is 50% contained and still threatens dozens of homes. NBC10’s Brian Sheehan has the latest on the wildfires.

Dry conditions fueling wildfires in New Jersey

Dry conditions have helped fuel several wildfires in New Jersey in recent weeks. The lack of significant rainfall since August has led to dry conditions, leading the state to impose strict restrictions on outdoor fires.

“We’re expecting some really bad fire weather tomorrow. A red flag has gone up for the entire state of New Jersey,” said Bill Donnelly, state wildfire warden and chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

All existing wildfires have containment lines around them.

More than 8,000 acres have burned so far this year. Donnelly said October was the busiest month on record for the wildfire agency.

The state has not seen any significant rain for over a month and this trend was expected to continue for at least the next few days.

“This is the driest event we’ve ever had in the history of the department,” said Jeremy Webber, supervising fire chief at the Fire Department, which was founded in 1906.

This last fire was brought by the crews We continue to fight fire in Jackson Township, NJ.

“It seems like it’s been happening non-stop,” Donnelly said.

At a news conference Thursday morning, Webber said there have been at least 1,189 fires on 7,900 acres since January. At least 102 fires have broken out across the state this month alone.

Webber said that forest fire teams were working intensively and trying to extinguish the fires.

Even the promised rain Sunday night through Monday isn’t expected to make much of a difference, Webber said.

“We’re going to need several inches of rain, not just one or two,” he said.

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