Brush Fire Extinguished in Montgomery between Bloomberg and Princeton Airport

By Barbara A. Preston | Posted March 2, 2025

On a blustery March 1 afternoon, a bush fire ignited along a Montgomery hiking trail that originates in Cherry Brook Preserve on Route 518 and runs along Bloomberg’s 16-acre solar panel field to the back side of Princeton Airport. 

Firefighters extinguished the flames quickly, by 12:30 pm, which was especially important given that there was an elevated risk for the spread of wildfires in central New Jersey. The National Weather Service issued the warning due to dry conditions combined with northwest winds of 25 mph and gusts up to 40 mph.

These conditions supported the rapid spread of any fires, which could quickly become difficult to control. (Such was the case in Hopewell, where a wildfire on 75 acres off Poor Farm and Woosamonsa roads was 40 percent contained yesterday afternoon).

Montgomery and Rocky Hill firefighters after extinguishing a brush fire on a Montgomery Township hiking path by Cherry Brook Preserve. Photo by Barbara A. Preston.

The NJ Fire Service was at the Montgomery scene along with firefighters from Montgomery Township Volunteer Fire Companies No. 1 and No. 2, Rocky Hill Fire Department, and Hopewell Fire Department. The first responders had the fire extinguished by 12:30 pm, when a reporter was on the scene. 

The cause of the fire was unknown, but is under investigation according to firefighters. The Montgomery News observed about a half acre of scorched earth along the trail that appeared to have spread very close to the solar panels. 

Photo Gallery

By Barbara A. Preston

Photo Caption: Montgomery Fire Companies No. 1 and No. 2 (Stations 46 and 45) and Rocky Hill Fire Company (Station 53) responding to the brush fire.

The fire companies actually had a busy day on March 1. They fought two fires, moving quickly due to the wind. In addition to the trail fire, there was a second fire between two houses. In total approximately 2 acres of brush was burnt in Montgomery between the two fires.

The Firefighters also helped with the Hopewell fire. The Hopewell Valley OEM last posted on Facebook that "NJ Forestry will be setting backfires to extinguish the wind-driven fire on Pennington Mountain. You may see fire from Woosamonsa Rd; however, there are fire units onsite and are actively monitoring the situation. Only call 9-1-1 if the fire gets close to your house. This operation will continue into the early morning hours. Currently, the fire is 40% contained."

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Follow the Hopewell Valley OEM to monitor the Hopewell fire.

Or, visit our friends at MercerMe, the community news organization for Hopewell, to follow their coverage of the fire in their own backyard.

Photo of the Hopewell fire by MercerMe.