New Jersey, 2001

Wildfire in New Jersey, May 1, 2001

May 1, 2001 · NWS PHI · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

The extremely dry and unseasonably warm weather of early May made New Jersey primed for wild and forest fires. m.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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 extremely dry and unseasonably warm weather of early May made New Jersey primed for wild and forest fires. In Burlington County in Bordentown Township, sparks from a passing train around 120 p.m. EDT was enough to ignite a dozen brush fires along the tracks from Amboy Road north to Groveville Road. One firefighter was taken to the hospital suffering from heat exhaustion. The siding of a barn on Amboy Road sustained minor heat damage, otherwise no other damage was reported. The fire was extinguished at 630 p.m. EDT. Another smaller train related brush fire occurred the same afternoon in Mansfield Township. In Monmouth County, in the Belford section of Middletown Township, a wildfire consumed four grassy acres before it was under control. One home's siding was damaged when the fire crept close to it. Two smaller brush fires occurred that afternoon within the township off of County Route 520 and Harbor Way. In Mercer County, another track related fire occurred in the Yardville section of Hamilton Township from 140 p.m. through 400 p.m. EDT. No damage or injuries were reported.

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 May 1, 1:15 AM EST, 10 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 1, 1:15 AM EST, 10 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
215 AM EDT TUE MAY 1 2001

DISC: A LITTLE WARM AIR SPILLING DOWN RDG CAUSING SOME CLDS TO FORM
OVR NWN NJ WITH S/W BEST SHOWN AT 80H WITH MEAN RH ABT 70% 700-500.
RDG TO PLAY MAJOR ROLE IN MAINTAING PCPN FREE SKIES FOR CPLE OF DAYS
AND CONSISTENT HIGH/LO TEMPS. CLDS SHUD DISSIPATE BUT IF NOT WILL
MAKE FOR A COLOR SUNRISE. MDLS SHWING S/W OVR MISS VALLEY MOVING TO
THE NE AND KICKING OFF SOME PCPN WITH BROAD LO LVL RETURN FLOW AND
INCREASING MOIST. MOIST DISSIPATES AS UPPER RIDGE CONTINUES TO BUILD
OVER APPALACHIANS AND SETS UP A BLOCKING PATTERN WED/THU. WILL HAVE
TO WAIT FOR ARRIVAL OF VERY ACTIVE CFNT TOWARD END OF WEEK FOR SHOWS
AND TSTMS.

TEMP HIGH W/B IN THE 80S NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS BUT NOT LIKELY TO SEE
ANY TEMP RECORDS APPROACHED ALTHO RUNNING ABOUT 10-13 DEGREES ABV
NML. WILL CONTINUE TO WATCH CONDITIONS FOR BRUSH FIRES ACROSS THE
REGION.

HAVE A GOOD DAY AND WEEK. SEE YA

FCSTID = 16/EBERWINE

.PHI...
DE...NONE.
MD...NONE.
NJ...NONE.
PA...NONE.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Monmouth

When
May 1, 12:00 PM EST to 5:00 PM EST
Where
Monmouth County, Belford
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Burlington

When
May 1, 12:20 PM EST to 5:30 PM EST
Where
Burlington County, Bordentown
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Wildfire, Mercer

When
May 1, 12:40 PM EST to 3:00 PM EST
Where
Mercer County, Yardville
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
40.283, -74.702 (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

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, May 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: 5244704, 5244702, 5244703.