The Pine Barrens Are On Fire

The fire, which began in a forested area of Barnegat Township in Ocean County, has burned several buildings and prompted evacuation orders for around 3,000 people. As of Tuesday night, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said the fire was only about 10 percent contained, and more than 1,300 structures are threatened. The Pine Barrens cover a decent chunk of the southeast of the country’s most densely populated state.

A portion of the Garden State parkway is shut down where fire and smoke threaten it, and around 25,000 customers, all in Ocean County, were without power on Wednesday morning. The Fire Service said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

The Pine Barrens burning isn’t itself unusual — the forest is a fire-adapted ecosystem, with many plants and animals relying on periodic burns. But like everywhere else, it is getting worse; the combination of warming temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and the human encroachment on the region are making catastrophic fires more likely. Climate change is also altering the balance of tree species there, which will change the amount of available fuel when fires do pop up.

This particular fire may have a few more days of good conditions, with above-average temperatures expected through the week. Rain may arrive by Friday night or Saturday, offering some relief. For now, the National Weather Service has issued an air quality alert for several eastern New Jersey counties; on Wednesday morning, the air in Atlantic City, to the south of the fire, was some of the worst in the country. With an Air Quality Index of 173, deemed “unhealthy,” basically no one should go outside until the smoke can clear.