Wildfire, Atlantic
- When
- July 29, 2:30 PM EST to July 30, 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Atlantic County, 3 mi N of Nesco
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in New Jersey, July 29 to 30, 1997
The largest forest fire of the month blackened about 1,920 acres of the Wharton State Forest in Mullica and Hammonton Townships. One fire fighter suffered heat exhaustion.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 1
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
The largest forest fire of the month blackened about 1,920 acres of the Wharton State Forest in Mullica and Hammonton Townships. One fire fighter suffered heat exhaustion. The fire started about 2.5 miles from the Totem Village in Mullica Township. About 100 persons (75 homes) were evacuated for about a day from that development and placed in the Mullica Township firehouse. The fire was declared contained at 6 p.m. EDT on the 30th. The unseasonably hot and dry weather contributed to a larger than normal number of wild and forest fires in the state of New Jersey. In all 381 wildfires blackened 3,095 acres of forest throughout New Jersey during the month of July.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Colorado, July 29 to 30, 1997
- Flash Flood in Missouri, July 29, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, July 29, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 29 to 30, 1997
- Damaging Winds and Lightning Strike in Texas, July 29 to 30, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Florida, July 29, 1997
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Wyoming, July 29 to 30, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, July 29, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, July 29, 1997
- Lightning Strike in New Mexico, July 29, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Texas, July 29, 1997
- Lightning Strike in North Carolina, July 29, 1997
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, July 1997
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5614679.