Wildfire in New Jersey, April 28, 2001

Name: Wildfire in New Jersey, April 28, 2001
Start: 2001-04-28T13:00
End: 2001-04-28T21:00
Location: New Jersey

April 28, 2001 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The second wildfire of the weekend affected Cheesequake State Park and adjacent parts of Old Bridge Township on the Saturday afternoon and evening of the 28th. m.

Where it happened

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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.

The second wildfire of the weekend affected Cheesequake State Park and adjacent parts of Old Bridge Township on the Saturday afternoon and evening of the 28th. The fire began about 2 p.m. EDT on Saturday the 28th and burned into Cheesequake State Park. The fire forced the evacuation of 25 homes in Old Bridge Township, closed some roadways and forced the closure and the evacuation of campers within Cheesequake State Park. The park was reopened the next day. Siding was singed on several homes. Otherwise, damage was limited to sheds, fences and landscaping. The fire was declared under control at 10 p.m. EDT the evening of the 28th. About 151 acres were burned. Cheesequake State Park was reopened the next day. The three fires that occurred around this weekend near Cheesequake State Park were allegedly set by a few juveniles. The unseasonably dry weather during the second half of April and the gusty northwest winds on the 28th helped spread the fires 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 28, 2:25 AM EST, 10 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 28, 2:25 AM EST, 10 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
325 AM EDT SAT APR 28 2001

MID LVL TROF AXIS IS OVER FA AND WILL MOVE E SLOWLY THROUGH TODAY
AND TONIGHT...THEN RIDGE AXIS WILL BEGIN TO BUILD TOWARD US SUN AND
SUN NIGHT. RIPPLES FCST TO DROP THROUGH THE TROF TODAY...BUT
ATMOSPHERE LOOKS QUITE DRY. THE RIPPLES SHOULD KEEP US FROM CLEARING
OUT COMPLETELY...BUT DRYNESS SHOULD MAKE MSNY A DECENT FCST FOR
TODAY DESPITE AREAS OF CLDS OVER FA ATTIM. THEN WILL KEEP CLOUDS OUT
OF AREA THROUGH SUN NIGHT AS RIDGE BUILDS TOWARD US AND WE REMAIN
DRY. AT THE SFC...HIGH PRES WILL DROP OUT OF UPR GREAT LAKES REGION
AND TOWARD US THROUGH SUN NIGHT. CENTRAL SFC PRES NOT FCST TO DROP
MUCH AT ALL THROUGH SUN EVE...HINTING THAT AIR MASS MODIFICATION
WOULD BE WEAK IN THE SHORT TERM. ALTHO MILD WARMING AT H8 FOR SUN
VIS A VIS TODAY...THE LOW LEVEL THERMAL PARAMETERS LOOK SOMEWHAT
COOLER THAN TODAY. ON OTHER HAND...SUN ANGLE IS GETTING UP
THERE...SO WILL KEEP TEMPS FOR SUNDAY BASICALLY THE SAME AS TODAY.
PERHAPS A MODEST WARMUP FOR THE POCONOS AND FAR NWRN NJ. LOCAL
SCHEME SUPPORTS THIS...AND SUPPORTS STAT GUIDANCE MAXES TODAY.

LOOKS LIKE THE SFC HIGH WILL GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO FA TO ALLOW FOR
DECOUPLING TONIGHT AFTER A BREEZY DAY. THIS RAISES THE QUESTION OF
HOW MUCH WILL WE RADIATE...AS DWPTS LOOK TO BE WELL BELOW THE
FREEZING MARK. NIGHTTIME ONLY LASTS ABOUT TEN HOURS THESE DAYS...AND
THE FIRST SEVERAL HOURS LIKELY WILL SEE SOME MIXING. HAVE GONE LOWER
ON THE MINS THAN PREV FCST...BUT NOT QUITE DOWN TO THE COOLEST STAT
GUIDANCE. THE DAY SHIFT WILL REVISIT THIS...AND DECIDE IF AND WHERE
A FREEZE WARNING IS WARRANTED.
R
WE HAVE A SCA GOING...THO IT LOOKS MARGINAL.

.PHI...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FROM SANDY HOOK NJ TO FENWICK ISLAND DE
       AND FOR DELAWARE BAY.

MPD

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Middlesex

When: April 28, 1:00 PM EST to 9:00 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)

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

Every storm in New Jersey in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 5240759.