By Judi McLeod
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Like the epic scene in a movie, the sun has turned blood red in New Jersey. But the blood-red sun is due to smoke 25 miles north of Atlantic City, at the edge of the 1.1 million-acre Pinelands National Preserve, and this is real life,
"It looks and smells like "Armageddon" here," Canada Free Press (CFP) columnist Sean Osborne reports from the scene.
The forest fire in southern New Jersey, driven by 15-mph winds from the southwest, has advanced dangerously close to several thousand homes, most of which were ordered to mandatory evacuation by local authorities earlier this afternoon.
" It's raining hot ash now, half-inch to one-inch sized pieces of pine bark are falling out of the smoke pillars--which is more intense than ever," Osborne reported to CFP at 5:15 Eastern Standard time today.
"Twenty to thirty miles east to west is one massive fire line along the southern edge of Rt. 72. "Helicopters are bucket-brigading water to the fire line along the southern edge of Rt. 72 and the southbound lanes of the Garden State Parkway right now."
"Fire service crews and fire companies from as far as 40-50 miles away were engaged in intense firefighting at 2:50 p.m. this afternoon.
People are leaving their homes only reluctantly, but Osborne says, "It was thanks only to the valiant battle waged overnight by fire crews that they were not forced to vacate earlier.
"Winds did not shift overnight, but hope rose with the sunrise that thunderstorms expected later would provide relief to the crews."
It's a relief that never came.
Osborne has spent 25 years serving his country and currently serves in the U.S. Army's Program Executive Office--Command, Control, Communications Tactical (PEOC3T) within the Special Project Office (SPO). He spent six years on active duty in the US Navy as a Cryptologic Technician.
Used to exposure in danger zones, Osborne was deployed to the Coalition Forces Land Command Component (CFLCC) and CJTF-7, Camp Doha, Kuwait supporting operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom in the U Army CENTCOM AO. But this danger zone is too close to home.
Wildfire is a word usually expected in California and Florida. But a wildfire along the border of Ocan and Burlington counties in southern New Jersey has burned thousands of acres of sparsely populated brush and pine forest.
A fire official says the blaze has closed several highways, forced hundreds of residents to evacuate and damaged several homes.
The fire, which is only 30 percent contained, started on a 9,400 acre expanse of sand and scrub pine named Warren Grove used for aerial bombing practice by Air National Guard units. A spokesman for the New Jersey Air National Guard says a flare dropped from one of its F-16s may have started the blaze. Dry conditions and winds gusting to 30 miles per hour contributed to its rapid spread.
"Our biggest issue right now is to make sure this fire does not cross the Garden State Parkway," said Maris Gabiks, the state fire warden.
Osborne is reporting within the vicinity where 2,500 homes had to be evacuated, maintaining a vigil at Rt. 72 and Mermaid Ave.
"I also have a good high-ground vantage spot just east of the Garden State Parkway," Osborne told CFP.
"The smoke here is very, very intense."
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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