Fire officials say a South Jersey brush fire that could be smelled 90 miles away has been contained.
Assistant Division Forest Fire Warden Michael Achey says the fire in Wharton State Forest was deemed contained at 4 p.m. Monday, about 24 hours after it was first spotted.
The forest fire burned more than 1,500 acres of land, or about 2 square miles, in the Wharton State Forest Sunday into Monday sending smoke into the air that could be seen and smelled in neighboring states.
The location of the fire was 31 Batsto Road. Crews dropped water on the fire from airplanes and used backfires to contain the fire. The fire did not threaten structures or people.
NBC10's SkyForce10 could spot smoke from the fire wafting in the air above Northeast Philly Monday morning -- that's about 40 miles away. There were also reports of reduced visibility at some area airports.
Credit: Chris Santaspirt
NBC10 First Alert Weather chief meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz said that winds pushed the smoke towards Pennsylvania ahead of a storm system that delivered rain to the area that eventually helped firefighters battle the blaze.
Achey says crews will be sent home Monday evening. Heavy rain should help put out the areas that continue to burn.
New York City's emergency management office alerted residents in Brooklyn and Staten Island that they might smell smoke from the blaze, which is about 90 miles away.
There were no reports of injuries.
How the fire started remains under investigation.
