The National Weather Service in Philadelphia has issued a statement warning about an increased risk of fire spread in our area beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, October 23rd. Southern New Jersey, including Cape May County and Avalon have been experiencing an extended period with little or no rainfall, which has put the region several inches behind where it should be for rain by this time of year and has created very dry conditions on the ground. Additionally, humidity has been and will continue to remain low throughout the area for the next several days and wind will begin to pick up on Wednesday, further enhancing the risk.
As a result, the agency is advising those in the area to avoid outdoor burning like campfires and to make certain to properly extinguish or dispose of any ignition sources such as cigarette butts. With winds possibly gusting to 20mph, any fires that do start could rapidly grow out of control, so please take this warning seriously. Conditions are expected to grow even more conducive to the spread of wildfires on Thursday, so the warning will likely extend into that day as well.
Cover image created using Midjourney prompt: close up of dry, burning grass.
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