Ahead of the spring wildfire season, the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Forest Fire Service announced $90,000 in grants to 22 communities statewide to support wildfire risk-reduction projects.
Communities receiving funds are located within New Jersey’s high-risk wildland-urban interface, areas where forest lands and human development intertwine, and have an approved Firewise Action Plan through the Forest Fire Service’s Firewise Communities program.
“The Firewise Communities Program supports concrete actions to help save lives and raise awareness for both vigilance and action to reduce wildfire risk,” said Environmental Protection Acting Commissioner Ed Potosnak. “The partnerships supported by this initiative are vital for ensuring the protection of lives and property in New Jersey’s most wildfire-prone areas.”
The grant program is part of the National Fire Protection Association’s Firewise USA initiative, which helps residents understand wildfire risks. It further supports communities in reducing those risks through planning, preparedness, education, and technical and financial assistance.
Funding for the grants was made available through the USDA Forest Service’s Wildfire Risk Reduction Grant Program provided to the Middle Atlantic Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact and distributed by the DEP Forest Fire Service. The compact coordinates forest fire protection, planning and training among Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Funded projects may include reducing wildfire risk through the maintenance of firebreaks to keep them clear of vegetation, along with strategic forest-thinning to reduce low and midstory trees and shrubs known as ladder fuels. Those ladder fuels can allow fire to spread rapidly from the forest floor into the tree canopy, making fires more difficult to control and extinguish.
Other potential projects include community education and outreach, as well as home-hardening initiatives. Home hardening involves modifying building materials, design features and landscaping to reduce the likelihood that a home will ignite during a wildfire.
Homes are typically not destroyed by direct flames but by embers and burning debris carried by wind. Home hardening focuses on preventing these ignition points by removing dead vegetation near structures, creating defensible space, planting fire-resistant landscaping, keeping gutters clear of leaves and pine needles, and modifying structures, such as installing mesh screens.
Grant recipients are required to provide a matching contribution through monetary funds and/or documented volunteer hours.
The following communities had their Firewise grant applications approved:
Atlantic County
Egg Harbor: Victoria Crossing Community Association, $4,200
Burlington County
Leisuretown Association, Inc., Southampton and Tranquility Ridge Homeowners Association, Vincentown: $4,200 each
Camden County
Waterford Township: $4,200
Monmouth County
Hamilton: Horizons at Woods Landing Homeowners Association, $4,200
Ocean County
Barnegat: Brighton at Barnegat Firewise Association, $3,500; Four Seasons at Mirage Homeowners Association, Heritage Bay Homeowners Association, Heritage Point Homeowners Association, Horizons at Barnegat Homeowners Association, and Pheasant Run Barnegat, $4,200 each; Pinewood Estates Firewise, $2,000
Little Egg Harbor: Four Seasons at Harbor Bay Homeowners Association and Four Seasons at Sea Oaks Homeowners Association, $4,200 each
Manchester: Crestwood Village Five Homeowners Association and Crestwood Village Six Community Association, Inc., $4,300 each
Manahawkin: Atlantic Hills Homeowners Association and Paramount Escapes Ocean Breeze, Manahawkin, $4,200 each
Toms River: Greenbriar Woodlands Homeowners Association, $4,200
Tuckerton: Cranberry Creek Homeowners Association, Inc., $4,200
Waretown: Greenbriar Oceanaire Community Association, Inc., $4,200
Warren County
Hardwick Township: $4,300
New Jersey has participated in the Firewise Communities program since 2004, when Hardwick Township in Warren County became the state’s first Firewise Community. It is one of several programs offered by the DEP Forest Fire Service to help educate residents about wildfire risk, reduce forest fuels and plan for future wildfires.
Mid-March to mid-May is typically peak wildfire season in New Jersey. At this time of year, trees and underbrush are still leafing out, humidity is generally low, and windy days are common. This combination of factors means forested lands dry out quickly, particularly in the Pinelands. The sandy and porous soils in this region do not retain moisture for long, exacerbate drying and increase the potential for a fire to spark only hours after rainfall.
