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1,800-acre fire in Pinelands is contained

Overnight rains helped firefighters control the blaze near Atsion Lake.

File Photo: Smoke from a fire that burned in 2005 in the same area as the blaze that was contained overnight in Wharton State Forest.
File Photo: Smoke from a fire that burned in 2005 in the same area as the blaze that was contained overnight in Wharton State Forest.Read moreFile Photograph

Firefighters assisted by rainfall overnight have contained a blaze that burned about 1,800 acres in Wharton State Forest in the South Jersey Pinelands.

No injuries or property damage was reported in what was dubbed the Jack Swamp Fire, southwest of Atsion Lake and Village in Waterford Township, Camden County.

The fire forced officials to close Route 206 south of Atsion, but it reopened Monday morning.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but N.J. Forest Fire Service Control Technician Al Valentino said it could have come from a lightning strike sometime in the past week.

Valentino said firefighters remained at the scene to dampen down hot spots. Rain Monday also was expected to extinguish any remaining smoldering vegetation, he said.