Smell smoke? Winds send controlled burn odor across N.J. counties

The National Weather Service said winds are bringing the smell to northwestern Burlington County, and possibly two others Tuesday night.

MOUNT HOLLY -- The smell of smoke from controlled burns in the Pine Barrens have been reported throughout the county on Tuesday, as the state's Forest Fire Service continues the seasonal burns. 

In this 2009 file photo, firefighters from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service conducted a prescribed burn in the Bevan Wildlife Management Area in Millville.File Photo 

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly said that wind patterns are blowing the smoke from the fires, which are used to control woodland growth that could fuel potentially dangerous fires during the summer months, from the county's southeastern areas farther north. 

"[The wind] is bringing the smoke from the lower part of Burlington County up to the northwestern area including the Burlington City and Mount Holly area," said meteorologist Dean Iovino, who added the smoke odor could be smelled from the service's Woodlane Road location.

The wind is expected to remain out of the southeast for the next few hours, Iovino said, but if the burns continue, the winds are expected to shift Tuesday night sending the fire's smell northwest toward Ocean and Monmouth County.

The controlled burns have been taking place throughout the central and southern portions of the state since last month, when burns were conducted at the Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Manalapan and other parts of Monmouth and Ocean counties. 

State Department of Environmental Protection Spokesman Larry Hajna told NJ Advance Media last week that the burns are often done in late February and early March before the start of the wildfire season around mid-March. 

"We do it under very controlled circumstances," Hajna said previously. "They just light the ground fires, and they monitor (them)."

Michelle Caffrey may be reached at mcaffrey@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShellyCaffrey. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.