The fire in Jackson, in the central portion of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, had grown to less than half a square mile (1.2 square kilometers) and was 40% contained as of mid-morning Thursday, said Deale Carey, incident commander for the fire service.

A spate of wildfires crisscrossing New Jersey prompted a statewide smoke advisory on Friday, as flames from one blaze in the Palisades, across the Hudson River from Manhattan, roared dangerously close to the nearby suburbs.