Wildfire in New Jersey, April 2 to 3, 2002

Name: Wildfire in New Jersey, April 2 to 3, 2002
Start: 2002-04-02T15:00
End: 2002-04-03T06:00
Location: New Jersey

April 2 to 3, 2002 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A fast moving brush fire developed off of County Route 517 in Vernon Township during the afternoon of the 2nd. Gusty winds in excess of 20 mph helped spread the fire toward the northwest.

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.

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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.

A fast moving brush fire developed off of County Route 517 in Vernon Township during the afternoon of the 2nd. Gusty winds in excess of 20 mph helped spread the fire toward the northwest. The fire scorched pieces of the Appalachian Trail and jumped low running streams. The fire was contained within 50 yards of about five homes. Homes on Carol Drive, Susan Terrace and Meadowlark Drive were evacuated and County Route 517 was closed as a precaution. Except for some hot spots, the fire was extinguished and under control by the morning of the 3rd. No serious injuries or property damage were reported. About 50 acres of brush were destroyed by the fire.

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 2, 8:50 AM EST, 6 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 2, 8:50 AM EST, 6 hours 10 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
850 AM EST TUE APR 2 2002

*******************************************************************

EARLY MRNG CLDS HAVE MOVED OUT/DSPTD SO HAVE ISSUED UPDATE MAKING
SKIES PARTLY SUNNY FOR MOST OF FA EXCEPT FOR NW PORTION.

********************************************************************

HI PRES MOVG OFF MID ATLC CST ERLY THIS MRNG AND WL MOV FURTHER OUT
TO SEA. LOW PRES IN THE MID WEST IS STRETCHING WRM FNT OUR WAY AND
WAA CLDS ALRDY ACRS AREA. LOW WL MOV NE TDA AND BE ARND SW NY STA BY
LT TDA. WRM FNTL CLDS WL TRY TO PASS N OF AREA...BUT GNRLY HANG
ON...ESPEC NRN AREAS. SINCE S/W WITH THIS FIRST SYS WEAK AND H5 FLOW
NRLY ZNL...XPCT VRY LTL PRECIP TDA AND EVEN TNGT.  MORE IMPT LOW
PRES AND CD FNT WL TRY AND ORGANIZE PRECIP FOR WED AS MORE IMPT H5
S/W HEADS TWD MID ATLC REGION. GNRLY DRY CONDS XPCTD LATER WED NGT
THRU AT LEAST ERLY WEEKEND.

ON MARINE NO FLAGS UP OR ENVISIONED.

FCSTID = 14
MPO   52  44  49  26 /  30  30  70  10
ABE   59  48  56  27 /  30  30  70  10
RDG   59  48  56  27 /  30  30  70  10
PHL   64  50  61  30 /  10  20  50  20
12N   52  44  49  26 /  30  30  70  10
SMQ   60  50  58  30 /  20  20  70  10
TTN   60  50  58  30 /  20  20  70  10
MIV   64  51  64  33 /  10  10  50  20
ACY   60  51  61  35 /  10  10  50  30
ILG   64  50  61  30 /  10  10  50  10
DOV   66  51  64  32 /  10  10  50  30
GED   66  51  64  32 /  10  10  50  30
ESN   66  51  64  32 /  10  10  50  30

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

JWH/WOODWORTH

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, Sussex

When: April 2, 3:00 PM EST to April 3, 6:00 AM EST
Where: Sussex County, Vernon
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.140, -74.690 (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 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, April 2002

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: 5292735.