Rain Helps New Jersey Firefighters Douse Blaze; Flames May Have Started From Military Flare

Wednesday, May 16th 2007, 10:03 am

By: News On 6

LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) _ A rainstorm Wednesday night helped firefighters make significant progress against a blaze that apparently began when a military jet dropped a flare on a bombing range.

The thunderstorm rolled into the region during the early evening, just after high winds associated with it pushed the fire eastward toward a highway, jeopardizing the road and thousands of homes east of it. But when it was over, the fire had been 70 percent contained.

``We now believe we have turned the corner,'' said Lisa Jackson, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The fire, which began Tuesday, sent walls of flames 80 to 100 feet high racing toward senior citizen communities. Elderly residents grabbed their pets and fled.

No deaths or injuries had been attributed to the fire, but at least 13 homes were damaged or destroyed and about 6,000 people were evacuated from 2,500 homes along the border between Ocean and Burlington counties. About 115 people were in shelters Wednesday evening, authorities said.

``I didn't grab anything but the cat and myself, and we scrammed,'' said Helen Sura, who spent a sleepless night with her pet, aptly named Smoky, in a Burger King parking lot.

A portion of the Garden State Parkway, one of the state's main north-south routes, was closed briefly Wednesday because dense smoke made it difficult for motorists to see. It was reopened later in the day.

Lt. Col. James Garcia, a spokesman for the New Jersey Air National Guard, said the fire was believed to have been started Tuesday afternoon with a flare dropped from an F-16 fighter jet. An investigation continued, he said.

The Warren Grove Gunnery Range, about 25 miles north of Atlantic City, was also involved in the accidental strafing in 2004 of an elementary school during a training exercise.

Other major fires were also burning Wednesday in the United States.

Along the Florida-Georgia state line, firefighters were making progress against a blaze that had charred 390 square miles across the two states and forced the evacuation of more than 700 homes. Calm air Wednesday allowed firefighters to strengthen their containment lines, said Jim Harrell, a spokesman for the Florida Division of Forestry.

But Harrell said the weather was expected to worsen over the weekend, with strong winds and high temperatures.

In Payson, Ariz., as many as 50 people were asked to evacuate to a church shelter after winds from two thunderstorms pushed a 1-square mile wildfire closer to homes. Authorities believe the fire, which started Sunday in the central part of the state, was caused by a human.

In northern Minnesota, some residents chased from their homes by a forest fire on the Gunflint Trail were told they could return. The fire has burned more than 117 square miles of Minnesota and Canada, and 61 homes and twice as many other structures have been destroyed. But two days of wet, cool weather have helped firefighters get the blaze 55 percent contained on the U.S. side and 20 percent contained in Canada.

``I'm dreading to see the black,'' said Lorraine Carpenter, whose lost her garage but not her home on Sea Gull Lake. ``That is not going to be pretty.''