It is amazing how much of he garden state is covered with dense woods. I mean really dense. These forests are vast and very subject to forest fires. Back in 1963 Most of the area was devastated by a huge forest fire.
It was April 20, 1963. Nicknamed Black Saturday, it was the day that 37 major forest fires began burning out of control across New Jersey. By the time they were finally contained Monday, seven people were dead and more than 183,000 acres were scorched black, amounting to roughly 4 percent of the entire state.
http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/a80cbd99-7fd4-5376-bf87-557a9c1ac513.html