Forest fire deemed suspicious

The Wharton State Forest blaze that began Tuesday afternoon, and that had spread to 1,800 acres by late yesterday, is being treated as a suspicious fire, an official said.

By 4:30 p.m. yesterday, 15 off-road fire engines, three helicopters, and an airplane had ceased operations for the day, and 40 percent of the fire had been contained, said Greg McLaughlin, division fire warden with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

A stretch of Route 206 was to remain closed until at least 7 a.m. today because of heavy smoke, but evacuated residents were allowed back in their homes.

No major injuries were reported, and private property had not been affected. Twenty-five homes that lost power had service restored.

"The fire is definitely suspicious, but it is under investigation," McLaughlin said. "We won't know [more information] for several days or even weeks to come."

Reported about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday by the Forest Fire Service observation tower in Medford, the fire has claimed parts of the Pine Barrens in Burlington, Camden and Atlantic Counties.

It started in Waterford, then burned into Shamong and Hammonton, McLaughlin said.

It jumped Route 206.

Sixty firefighters have battled the flames. From the air, one plane and three helicopters - two from the New Jersey Air National Guard, and one from the Forest Fire Service - were dumping water.

Eddie Carter, 43, piloted the lone plane above the forest and had been dropping 600-gallon loads of water on the smoky areas off Route 206. He also catches "jumps," or new fires, that start up, he said.

The water is dropped using a hydraulic "dump gate" on the bottom of the aircraft, and an on-flight computer controls the flow - as much as 600 gallons in three seconds.

After eight or 10 loads are dumped, Carter flies his single-seat aircraft back to Hammonton Airport to refill.

His company, Downstown Aero, has a contract with New Jersey to fight forest fires, and state firefighters direct the operation, he said.

"What we're going to try to do is get that smoke condition down to open Route 206," he said. "It's pretty cool. I just enjoy the flying and doing my part to help out."

Shamong Mayor Jon Shevelew said the area of the fire was very sparsely populated. Still, township residents were notified through e-mail and a reverse 911-call system.

"We are not predicting any ramifications from this," he said.