According to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, the Jennings Creek Wildfire started in West Milford, New Jersey, and is threatening 25 structures, including eight structures in the Long Pond Ironworks Historic District.
The founders built a dam at Long Pond, now called Greenwood Lake, to provide power to the furnace.
Last week, a New York State Parks employee was killed while battling the Jennings Creek Wildfire in Greenwood Lake, according to New York State Police.
Long Pond has been a New Jersey State Park since 1987 and is a National Historic Landmark.
Long Pond Ironworks Historic Site Trails and Visitor Center were closed on Monday due to the ongoing wildfires.
Firefighters from New Jersey are defending residences and a historic site where iron for the nation’s first soldiers, dating back to the Revolutionary War, was made.
Twenty-five structures, including eight in the Long Pond Ironworks Historic District, are at risk from the Jennings Creek Wildfire, which began in West Milford, New Jersey, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
Due to drought, dry leaves, and low humidity, wildfires have spread throughout New Jersey and much of the Northeast during the last two months. The first detectable rain in weeks fell on New Jersey and New York on Sunday.
Firefighters are back on the ground, attempting to construct containment lines for the 5,000-acre fire, including safeguarding Long Pond Ironworks, which backs up to the New Jersey-New York state line in Hewitt, New Jersey, despite the area receiving about a quarter of an inch of rain overnight into Monday.
In 1766, the Long Pond Ironworks was established. At Long Pond, which is now known as Greenwood Lake, the founders constructed a dam to supply electricity for the furnace.
According to New York State Police, a Jennings Creek Wildfire in Greenwood Lake claimed the life of a New York State Parks employee last week.
According to Friends of Long Pond Ironworks, the 175-acre Historic District site now houses the village’s remnants and the furnaces at Long Pond that made iron for the Union Army during the Civil War, the American military during the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812.
In addition to being a National Historic Landmark, Long Pond has been a New Jersey State Park since 1987.
Because of the continuing wildfires, the Long Pond Ironworks Historic Site Trails and Visitor Center were closed on Monday. Additionally, all Tranquility Ridge trails are closed.
The Jennings Creek Wildfire has forced closures of all areas of Ringwood State Park, including north of Greenwood Lake Turnpike and east of Awosting Road, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
