History and mysteries · Bass River State Forest
Allen Road: smoke closes the Parkway while fire clears a campground (2023)
Documented history · Sources compared
The Bass River wildfire reached beyond its forest boundary through smoke, evacuation and disrupted travel.
The forest emergency
The Allen Road wildfire began May 31, 2023 in Bass River Township. DEP’s September review lists 5,474 acres burned, a campground evacuation and closure of part of the Garden State Parkway.
Those effects should be separated. The evacuation removed people from a threatened location; a highway closure also responded to dangerous visibility away from the flames.
The smoke and fog problem
On June 2, NJ Spotlight News reported that smoke mixed with fog had closed a roughly twenty-five-mile stretch of the Parkway. Traffic resumed in both directions by 10 a.m., with a reduced-speed advisory. At that time the fire itself was only half contained.
Reopening the highway therefore was not a declaration that the wildfire had ended. The two updates tracked different conditions: road visibility and progress around the fire perimeter. The cited sources do not establish a final ignition cause.
Sources and research limits
DEP, September 2023 fire-season review, Allen Road entry and impact summary. NJ Spotlight News, June 2, 2023, broadcast transcript on the Parkway closure.