also tonight there's a Statewide ban on open fires with stage three fire restrictions now in effect throughout all 21 counties that means no open campfires in wooded areas or fire pits using wood or charcoal until further notice you can however use an elevated stove with propane or gas or electricity the move is in response to prolonged dry conditions increased Wildfire activity and a worsening drought State Department of Environmental Protection commissioner Shawn LaTourette says the next several days are a concern because wind gusts are forecast in excess of 20 m per hour with very low humidity perfect conditions for fire spread New Jersey's fall Fire season usually runs mid October through mid November but it ramped up quicker than usual this year because of long stretches of warm and extremely dry weather the state's chief of the forest fire service told reporters he can't recall the time in his 30-year career when we've had this much dry weather and no relief in sight since the start of the Year New Jersey's experienced 934 wildfires that have burned more than 6,700 acres of land [Music]