Flights halted at bombing range linked to N.J. wildfires - CNN.com

Flights halted at bombing range linked to N.J. wildfires - CNN.com: "

Flights halted at bombing range linked to N.J. wildfires

POSTED: 10:10 p.m. EDT, May 18, 2007

Story Highlights

• Air Force investigating how blaze began on Warren Grove Gunnery Range
• New Jersey Air National Guard: Flare from F-16 jet may have sparked fire
• Property owners may be paid for damage from fire, which is mostly contained
• Progress reported on wildfires on Georgia-Florida, U.S.-Canadian borders

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LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, New Jersey (AP) -- Military officials announced Friday they were suspending training at an aerial bombing range where a flare dropped from a military jet may have caused a 27-square-mile (70-square-kilometer) wildfire.

The Air Force also said it convened an accident investigation board to investigate how the blaze began on the Warren Grove Gunnery Range. The fire continued to burn Friday, but a steady rain was assisting firefighting efforts.

Training was suspended pending the investigation, officials said.

New Jersey Air National Guard officials said the fire might have been sparked by a flare dropped from an F-16 into the tinder-dry southern New Jersey Pinelands during a training mission Tuesday. The military has promised to reimburse property owners if investigations find the jet was to blame, and officials began handing out claims forms Thursday.

At the height of the fire, 6,000 people were evacuated and a handful of homes were damaged or destroyed. The blaze was between 90 percent and 95 percent contained as of late Friday afternoon, said Jim Petrini, assistant fire warden with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. It would probably be another day or so before it was declared under control, he said.

Maj. Gen. Glenn K. Rieth, New Jersey adjutant general, said he had directed the 177th Fighter Wing unit at Atlantic City International Airport to stand down from all flying activity for the day and conduct an all-day safety review.

The New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs said in a news release that the suspension of flight activities and safety review would "provide an opportunity for F-16 pilots to focus on an extensive review of all safety procedures."

In 2004, a National Guard jet at the range, located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of Atlantic City, accidentally strafed an elementary school during a training exercise.

Elsewhere, firefighters were making progress battling a wildfire along the Georgia-Florida border, which was 70 percent contained Friday, officials said.

Residents of about 200 homes were allowed to return Friday, but some 541 residences remained evacuated Friday, Columbia County spokeswoman Paulette Lord said. Officials canceled a three-day folk music and arts festival set for next weekend at a state park.

A fire in northern Minnesota that has burned 117 square miles (303 square kilometers) in the United States and Canada could be brought under control by Sunday, officials said. Authorities hope to lift the remaining evacuation orders affecting about 100 residents along the Gunflint Trail by Tuesday.