As drought conditions persist heading into spring, Murphy administration urges wildfire awareness and water conservation.

 The Murphy Administration urges the public to continue exercising wildfire awareness and practicing water conservation as drought conditions persist entering the spring, which is peak wildfire season in New Jersey and a time when demand for water for landscaping, gardening, and lawn care increases across the state.

New Jersey remains under an official drought warning and enters spring following minimal precipitation in the fall coupled with the third-driest January on record and well-below average precipitation throughout the winter.

While precipitation in February was nearly normal, it was not enough to fully replenish reservoirs and groundwater. These conditions have also dramatically increased spring wildfire risk and severely hampered efforts by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Forest Fire Service to conduct prescribed fire operations that are critical to preventing wildfires. Typically, the Forest Fire Service targets 25,000 acres of forest, grasslands, and marshlands for treatments with prescribed fire. Persistent dry conditions, however, have significantly limited this work with 1,707 acres of grasslands and six acres of forest being treated to date – a historic low.

All regions of New Jersey have been under drought warning since Nov. 13, 2024, meaning residents are strongly urged to voluntarily conserve water.

The Department is coordinating with water systems to ensure they are using all available sources to increase supplies for the spring season. If conditions do not improve, the next step could be the declaration of a drought emergency, which carries mandatory restrictions. The last statewide drought emergency was declared in March 2002 and lifted in January 2003.

In response to the ongoing conditions, the Administration has launched the NJ Wildfire SMART (Safety, Mitigation, Awareness, Response, Training) public safety awareness initiative. A separate spring conservation outreach campaign launched this week ahead of peak irrigation season provides tips on how to reduce water usage when gardening, landscaping, and preparing lawns. For information on the campaign and toolkits, visit DEP’s Every Drop Counts website.

Read the full news release to get wildfire prevention tips, and information on immediate wildfires and prescribed burns.

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