Firefighters Make 'Substantial Progress' Battling 13,500-Acre Wildfire At Wharton State Forest
The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said firefighters had made "substantial progress" in containing a wildfire that had consumed 13,500 acres.
About 85 percent of the fire was contained, the fire service reported on Tuesday, June 21.
An illegal campfire is a possible cause, state fire officials said.
The fire — in the state's largest forest — extended to Washington, Shamong, Hammonton and Mullica townships.
Routes 206 and 542 reopened on Tuesday.
The fire began on Sunday, June 19.
The last fire that was at least 15,000 acres was a 2007 blaze that consumed 17,000 acres of woods in Bu…
NJ Native, 39, Dies Hiking National Forest In Arizona
A New Jersey native died while hiking in a national forest.
Michael Benedetto La Marca, 39, was hiking at Peralta Trailhead in Arizona's Tonto National Forest when he died Oct. 3, according to his obituary.
More than 14,000 acres of the forest he died in was consumed by wildfire on the day of his death, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Circumstances around La Marca's death, however, were not made public,
Born in Clinton, La Marca graduated from North Hunterdon Regional High School in 1999.
La Marca had been living in Phoenix and working as the Director of Solar …
