Wildfire, Middlesex
- When
- April 27, 5:00 PM EST to 8:00 PM EST
- Where
- Middlesex County, Cheesequake
- Reported by
- PARK/FOREST SERVICE
- Coordinates
- 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Wildfire in New Jersey, April 27, 2001
A brush fire burned about 80 acres in the Joseph Court area of Old Bridge Township during the Friday evening of the 27th. m.
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
- 0
- 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.
A brush fire burned about 80 acres in the Joseph Court area of Old Bridge Township during the Friday evening of the 27th. The fire began about 6 p.m. EDT and was under control at 9 p.m. EDT that evening. The fire burned about 80 acres in a remote area of tidal marsh and forest adjacent to the Cheesequake State Park. The fire burned to the edge of the Cheesequake Stream. Three fires that occurred around this weekend were allegedly set by a few juveniles. The unseasonably dry weather during the second half of April and the gusty northwest winds on the 27th helped the wildfires spread quickly.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 27, 1:00 PM EST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 27, 1:00 PM EST, 4 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
200 PM EDT FRI APR 27 2001
WE/LL BE HARD PRESSED TO SEE ANY CLOUDS THIS WEEKEND...AND ANY
PRECIP DURING THE COMING WEEK.
A SHORT WAVE TROUGH WILL MAKE ITS WAY OVER THE FORECAST AREA BETWEEN
NOW AND ABOUT 4 OR 5 O/CLOCK. WITH VERY LIMITED MOISTURE...WE/LL
CONTINUE TO SEE A FEW CLOUDS BUT NO PRECIP. THE ACCOMPANYING COLD
FRONT EXTENDED ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND...THE LOWER HUDSON RIVER
VALLEY AND NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA AT 2 O/CLOCK. THE FRONT WILL DROP
SLOWLY TO THE SOUTH REACHING CENTRAL NEW JERSEY AND PHL/S NORTHERN
AND WESTERN SUBURBAN COUNTIES AROUND SUNSET. THE FRONT SHOULD MAKE
ITS WAY THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF OUR FORECAST AREA BY ABOUT MIDNIGHT.
ANOTHER WEAK SHORT WAVE TROUGH PRESENTLY UP OVER WESTERN ONTARIO IS
FORECAST TO DROP TO THE SOUTHEAST AND PASS OVER OUR REGION DURING
THE MID DAY HOURS ON SATURDAY. WITH VERY LIMITED MOISTURE...FEW IF
ANY CLOUDS WILL ACCOMPANY IT.
HIGH PRESSURE SHOULD SETTLE OVER THE REGION ON SATURDAY NIGHT AND
SUNDAY. MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA IS EXPECTED TO SEE MINIMUM TEMPS
IN THE 30S ON SUNDAY MORNING...WITH SOME SCATTERED 20S...AND A FEW
40S ALONG THE COAST AND IN URBAN AREAS.
WARMER AND MORE HUMID AIR IS ANTICIPATED TO BEGIN ADVECTING IN FROM
THE WEST ON SUNDAY NIGHT...SETTING THE STAGE FOR THE COMING WEEK.
A WEAK SHORT WAVE TROUGH IS EXPECTED TO PASS OVERHEAD ON MONDAY
NIGHT OR TUESDAY...FOR NOW PRESENTING ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE OF PRECIP
AT THAT TIME.
THE ZONE FORECASTS WILL BE ISSUED AT 330.
.PHI...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM SANDY HOOK NJ TO FENWICK ISLAND DE
AND FOR DELAWARE BAY.
IOVINO
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
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, April 2001
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: 5240758.