N.J. drought turns severe in more areas. Red flag fire warnings issued.

New Jersey’s drought situation has turned even more dire during the past week, with 69% of the state now experiencing moderate drought conditions and almost a third of the state now in a severe drought.
That’s the bad news coming out of the latest national drought status report, released Thursday morning.
And it‘s not surprising, in light of New Jersey’s long streak of rainless days and several months of unusually dry weather.
The combination of extremely dry brush, low humidity and gusty winds expected this afternoon has sparked a red flag fire warning in 11 counties, including parts of Central New Jersey and all of South Jersey.
The warning will be active from 11 a.m. through 6 p.m. Thursday and urges residents, campers and park visitors to be extra careful because of the high risk of fast-moving brush fires or larger wildfires.
Most areas of New Jersey have now had more than three straight weeks with either no rain at all or just a trace of rain, and the National Weather Service is predicting another week with no rain or very little rain.
The lack of rain in October comes in the wake of one of the three driest Septembers ever recorded in New Jersey, with rainfall statistics dating back to the late 1800s.
Last week, the worsening drought situation prompted Gov. Phil Murphy’s office to declare a drought watch and ask residents and businesses across the state to voluntarily conserve water.
State officials said if the dry conditions persist, the drought watch may be elevated to a more serious drought warning or rare drought emergency.
Those designations would allow the state to impose mandatory water-use restrictions for homeowners and businesses to help ease the strain on water supplies.
On Monday, major restrictions on outdoor burning were imposed by state officials because the persistent drought conditions have sparked more wildfires than usual this month.
The so-called Stage 3 fire restrictions are the highest level of mandates. Under these restrictions — effective in all 21 counties — lighting any open fires is not allowed unless they are contained in an elevated stove or barbecue grill using only propane, natural gas or electricity, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said.
The restrictions include backyard fire pits. State officials said fire pits that use electricity, propane or natural gas are permitted, but fire pits that use other sources of fire — like wood or charcoal — are not allowed as long as the fire restrictions continue.
It is unclear whether liquid fuel stoves that use “white gas” are banned under the state’s fire restrictions.
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at [email protected] or on X at @LensReality.