Officials: Underground fire ‘looked like a volcano’

WOODBURY – A fire that burned underground here for a month looked like the inside of a volcano, a city official said Friday.

A PSE&G power line over Conrail tracks snapped during a severe storm on June 23, spurring a chain reaction that resulted in a 30-foot-wide, 30-foot-deep underground blaze reaching temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees, according to Woodbury Mayor Bill Volk.

“It looked like a volcano. It was melting the ground,” Volk told the Courier-Post.

The PSE&G line snapped when straight line winds and heavy rains pummeled South Jersey last month. The severe thunderstorms toppled trees and created more than 416,000 power outages.

When the line broke, it sent electricity into the ground, igniting a mix of coal and cinder used as a foundation for the tracks, the mayor explained.

The fire site was in a wooded area between Laurel Street and the former Gloucester County Jail.

“Neighbors saw the ground smoking, and naturally called the fire department,” Volk said.

PSE&G de-energized the line, then fire crews tried putting water on the fire on Conrail-owned land.

“Conrail was notified. They said they would take care of it,” Volk said.

A Conrail spokesman did not return mutliple calls for comment Friday.

Since June 23, the Woodbury City Fire Department has responded to the scene seven times. Finally, fire officials contacted Gloucester County Emergency Management Wednesday night to assess the area, according to county spokeswoman Debra Sellitto.

Gloucester County emergency management officials assisted in monitoring the fire, but it was ultimately extinguished by the Woodbury fire department and Conrail, Sellitto explained.

The rail operator responded this week to dig out the burning portion, Volk said.

The fire was extinguished Thursday afternoon, exactly one month after the devastating storm hit.

Conrail backfilled the area with rock Thursday. An 80-car Conrail train coming from Paulsboro was stopped in Woodbury until the earth below the impacted section of track was stabilized, according to a report by the Gloucester County Office of Emergency Management.

Carly Q. Romalino; (856) 486-2476; cromalino@courierpostonline.com