Home Care In West Milford, NJ

More than a foot of snow fell overnight in parts of Sussex County with similar surprise snowfall totals in nearby towns, forcing dozens of school closures and delays Friday in northwestern New Jersey.

Some additional rain and a bit more snow is expected in New Jersey on Friday before a dry weekend.

Light rain is falling across northeastern and Central Jersey as of 7 a.m. with snow confined to northwestern parts of the state, according to radar.

South Jersey is not receiving any rain, but some precipitation is expected later Friday.

In addition to the whopping 20 inches of snow reported at High Point Monument — the highest-elevation spot in the state — a foot of snow dropped in the Highland Lakes section of Vernon, while West Milford received 7.5 inches, the National Weather Service said.

All were well above forecasts of 4 to 6 inches heading into Friday evening.

About 2 inches of snow had fallen in Mount Arlington, Morris County as of 2:30 a.m. while Sparta had picked up about 1.5 inches of accumulation shortly after 5 a.m., the weather service said

Little to no snow fell in areas of the state below an elevation of 400 feet.

Some additional rain is expected Friday — a tenth to quarter inch for most areas — along with gusty winds up to 35 mph are before precipitation winds down this evening.

A winter weather advisory remains in effect until 4 p.m. for Morris, Sussex and Warren counties. The advisory lapses at 10 a.m. in western Passaic County with slippery roads expected in all four counties.

Statewide, temperatures will be be on the cooler side with highs ranging from the upper 30s in northwestern New Jersey to the upper 40s in southern shore areas. Temps fall into the 30s overnight.

We dry out over the weekend with sunny skies and highs in the low 50s. Brisk winds that gust as high as 35 mph on Saturday will make it feel a bit chillier. Winds will be light on Sunday.

Current weather radar

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Jeff Goldman may be reached at [email protected].

“Significant” rainfall was expected to help douse a stubborn wildfire burning on the New Jersey-New York border Wednesday, Nov. 20.

With the rain, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service lifted fire restrictions in northern New Jersey, including Passaic and Sussex counties.

The service had imposed Stage 3 restrictions, which prohibited outdoor burning except for gas, propane or electric grills.

Many parts of the Northeast have been under red flag alerts, with firefighters responding to hundreds of brush fires in tinder-dry and windy conditions.

Officials have said numerous prolonged rainstorms are needed in parts of New England as well as New Jersey and New York, which are the driest in between 120 to 150 years.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory from 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21 through 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 22 for western Passaic County.

Snow is expected with accumulations of 2 to 4 inches at elevations above 500 feet. Elsewhere, accumulations likely will be less than 2 inches.

Roads are likely to be slippery, and isolated tree damage and power outages are possible because of heavy wet snow.

Teens arrested

Police in Evesham Township in southern New Jersey on Wednesday said they arrested a 14-year-old from Marlton in connection with an Oct. 30 wildfire that burned about 52 acres.

On Nov. 7, they charged another youth, also from Marlton, with setting the same fire. The latest arrest was made Tuesday, Nov. 19 and announced Wednesday.

Both are charged with aggravated arson and causing or risking widespread injury or damage.

They were taken to a juvenile detention center as detectives investigate whether they might have been responsible for a second wildfire in Evesham a week later that burned a larger area, about 375 acres.

A storm moving into the New Jersey-New York area Wednesday was expected to bring what New York officials called “significant” rainfall to the area of the Jennings Creek Wildfire, which has burned more than 5,000 acres and was 90% contained as of Wednesday morning.

“With rain on the way to help alleviate some strain from the fires and the drought, we encourage New Yorkers to conserve their water usage and not to burn fires outdoors,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “We thank our first-responders and firefighters for their bravery and know that without them, this fire would be much worse.”

She said helicopters have conducted more than 550 water drops onto the blaze since Nov. 11, totaling over 500,000 gallons. That’s enough to fill most of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

While the rain will undoubtedly help fire crews douse the fire, which is burning in several hard-to-reach areas of rugged terrain, the rain could bring its own challenges.

“Soil within the burned area will become unstable and erosive as it becomes more saturated,” the New York Department of Environmental Conservation said in a statement Tuesday night. “Residents may see burned and decomposing trees fall within the fire area. A combination of mud and burned debris may run off into local waterways causing discoloration.”

Two other small wildfires in New Jersey were declared fully contained Wednesday morning. They were burning in Hainesport in Burlington County and in Pine Park in Lakewood in Ocean County.

Hochul said five other smaller wildfires are burning in New York.

Passaic County Awards Construction Contract for New Satellite Office in West Milford

West Milford, NJ – The Passaic County Commissioners have awarded a $5.5 million contract to Delric Construction, Inc. for the development of a new satellite County Office in West Milford. The facility will house a public health office and clinic, a behavioral health services clinic, and a senior nutrition site, addressing the essential and social needs of northern Passaic County residents.

This project comes as part of the County’s long-term extension of its shared services agreement with West Milford to provide comprehensive public health services; a shared services agreement allows different government administrations to work together to offer important programs and services that are more affordable for everyone. The new satellite office will also complement public health shared services agreements with nearby Wanaque and, starting in January 2025, Bloomingdale, further centralizing access to vital resources in the region.

“Our commitment to public health is stronger than ever,” said John Bartlett, Director of the Passaic County Board of Commissioners. “By expanding our shared services with West Milford and enhancing support for nearby municipalities like Wanaque and Bloomingdale, we’re making sure that everyone has equitable access to critical health and wellness programs. This new satellite office represents a cornerstone of that mission.”

The satellite office will play a key role in addressing healthcare challenges faced by rural communities, including limited access to medical and mental health services. It will also serve as a hub for senior services, including nutrition programs that promote the well-being of older residents. Through shared services agreements, municipalities like West Milford are able to access more support at a reduced cost to taxpayers.

Brian Jackson, President of the Passaic County Building and Construction Trades Council, highlighted the local impact of the project: “This transformative initiative not only strengthens our community by addressing critical public health and wellness needs but also creates good jobs for local workers. With a Project Labor Agreement in place, we ensure that skilled tradespeople from our area are at the forefront of building this much-needed facility.”

Mayor Michele Dale of West Milford expressed her enthusiasm for the project, stating: “This satellite office is a testament to what shared services can accomplish. By working together, we’re bringing essential health and wellness resources closer to home for our residents. West Milford is proud to partner with Passaic County in delivering this vital investment for our community.”

The County’s ongoing shared services agreements with municipalities like Wanaque and Bloomingdale have proven successful in extending public health resources to more residents, and the new satellite office will amplify these efforts.

Construction on the satellite office is set to begin in early 2025, with completion anticipated by the end of 2026.

Learn more about Shared Services at passaiccountynj.org.

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As firefighters continue battling the Jennings Creek wildfire in West Milford, a local wildlife refuge has been working tirelessly to save the lives of the animals that have been impacted by the fire.

"We're running on fumes here. The last few days have been challenging to say the least. Draining and very difficult," said the Last Resort Wildlife Refuge in a post on Facebook on Wednesday night. "We're taking in animals with minor injuries and smoke inhalation today. Answering so many hotline calls and going out on continued rescue efforts."

The Last Resort Wildlife Refuge is a nonprofit wildlife rehabilitation facility and nature preserve in West Milford. Its rescue facility sits on over 80 acres of preserved and protected forest in the Ramapo Mountains. The refuge rescues, recovers, rehabilitates and releases several hundred orphaned, sick or injured wild patients each year.

Throughout the last week, the refuge has been "hyper focused" on helping wildlife that has been impacted by the Jennings Creek fire. According to multiple posts on the refuge's Facebook page, it has multiple patients in its care with minor injuries from burns and smoke inhalation.

On Thursday, in collaboration with New Jersey Fish and Wildlife and Tyco Animal Control Services, the refuge was able to save a bear that was discovered laying in the smoldering remains at the edge of the burned-up forest on the New Jersey and New York border. They were able to assess the bear's wounds and condition from a safe distance and ensure that she was out of danger and safe from further injury.

"Only some minor burns to her paws and likely some minor smoke inhalation. She's exhausted and a little defeated, but her injuries are minor," said the refuge in a post on Facebook. The refuge expects the bear to make a total recovery on its own, reporting that it has moved to safer ground and is "hopefully fast asleep, in her den."

"We're doing everything possible to help those we can reach. We're heartbroken for the wildlife, all the injured, displaced animals out there who we just cannot reach," says one post. "We're devastated for the thousands of wild souls who, already challenged by the extended drought, have now lost everything this week. They're injured, suffering, scared, hungry, confused, exhausted and hiding."

The post continued: "As they navigate this disaster, please remember if they come into your neighborhood, seeking temporary refuge, just be kind! Put water out, let them rest, give them some space and peace even if just for a while."

The refuge is currently safe. However, the smoke was "intense, even indoors," according to the refuge's most recent update on Facebook.

The organization is in need of supplies, including more oxygen concentrator machines to treat smoke inhalation and large equipment such as a horse trailer and a landscaping/quad trailer for large scale evacuation if it were to become necessary. If you would like to donate supplies, check out the Refuge's Amazon wish list at https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1M04S5R86IZBD/ref=hz_ls_biz_ex?fbclid=IwY2xjawGjFVxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZcc3jIoH8ybiRgoKTkoOfiVHl9OZCA5bq4z7yJhOWRxnFni977R2vG5Nw_aem_CiSklPk41NoVCuqsZjWWnA.

"We're continuing all efforts to rescue the wild victims of the fires, we expect more over the weekend as animals start returning to their den/nest areas in the burned zone," said the Refuge. As of Friday morning, the NJ Forest Fire Service said that the fire was 90% contained.

If you would like to make a donation to the Last Resort Wildlife Refuge, visit thelastresortwildlife.com/donate/.

If you see injured wildlife, call the Refuge's hotline at 973-506-4353.

3-minute read

A drawdown at the Oak Ridge Reservoir in West Milford is providing a rare peek into New Jersey’s past.

Likely submerged for most of its existence, the stone bridge now exposed along with the reservoir's bare floor provides the only hint of a village that vanished over a century ago. It isn't a ghost story but a reminder of pressing needs at the turn of the 20th century.

In the late 1800s, Newark was desperate for clean water. Industrial pollution had ruined its original source: the Passaic River. The problem led officials to consider building a pipeline 25.3 miles northwest to the Pequannock River. There, amid a rural land dotted with iron mines and forges, they could strategically place dams to create a chain of reservoirs linked by the Pequannock River: Clinton Falls, Oak Ridge and Macopin.

The most controversial of the original three, Oak Ridge, required the sacrifice of a small village.

The East Jersey Water Company, which oversaw the project to create the Newark Watershed, had to acquire the land in order to flood it. That demanded purchasing homes, barns and fields from reluctant residents, namely Horace Chamberlain, the Passaic Daily News reported in July 1889. A former state legislator, Chamberlain had amassed a large estate in the area that included a 400-acre farm, said 1914's "A History of Morris County."

Company officials also had to buy water rights from factories along the Pequannock and its feeders, including Dunker Pond and Echo Lake.

By the end of 1891, however, Chamberlain was dead, the factory owners were compensated and the homes that once formed the village were auctioned off. Houses sold for as little as $20. The highest bid was $200 for Lewis Thompson's country home, the Passaic Daily News reported in April 1891.

The homes in Oak Ridge and in nearby Wallace's Corners were linked by the bridge to Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike, a toll road built between 1806 and 1814 that facilitated trade and travel across New Jersey’s Highlands. The turnpike’s role in the region’s growth was vital, linking small towns to larger markets. Some suspect the bridge was built along with the turnpike, but its age is unknown.

Carefully crafted from stone blocks, the bridge spans three arches and sticks up about 20 feet above the slow trickle of the Pequannock River. The region has been dealing with severe drought, going more than a month with no measurable rainfall. Oak Ridge's main job is to keep the modern queen of the Newark Watershed reservoirs, Charlotteburg, topped off.

Charlotteburg was the last of the system's reservoirs to be built, with the work done between 1958 and 1960. It increased the total storage capacity of the reservoirs to roughly 14.4 billion gallons, state records show.

The three original reservoirs were completed by May 1892. Two other reservoirs were added in the middle part of the decade, as the three-reservoir system ultimately did not produce as much water as expected, local newspaper reports said.

In order for the company to make good on its 50 million-gallon-per-day contract with Newark by the 1900 deadline, suggestions arose to build another reservoir a half-mile below the Oak Ridge dam, The Jersey City News reported in June 1892.

Instead, the company began buying land in Sussex County in preparation for the Canistear Reservoir’s creation. At that time, a single church stood in what was then mostly virgin forest, The Jersey City News reported when work wrapped up on Canistear in November 1896. Echo Lake, once considered an alternative reservoir site amid Chamberlain's protests, was added to the system shortly after, the Passaic Daily News reported.

The bridge at Oak Ridge Reservoir is near the intersection of Route 23 and Reservoir Road. But caution is advised: The best way to view this relic is not by stopping on the highway, but by finding a safe vantage point nearby. Also, be warned: The property is part of the Newark Watershed, which requires permits to access it for hiking, boating, fishing and other recreational pursuits.