A wildfire on the border of Burlington and Camden counties has forced the temporary evacuation of a dozen buildings and threatens dozens more.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said the fire was in Evesham and Voorhees counties. It is stated that as of 15:00, the fire affected at least 300 decares of land and 50% of it was under control.

The fire threatens 104 buildings; 12 of these were temporarily evacuated as a precaution. As of 6:30 p.m., all evacuation orders were lifted and residents were allowed to return to their homes, fire officials said.

A fire official on duty at one of the Forest Fire Brigade towers first reported the fire around 9 a.m. near Sycamore Avenue and Kettle Run Road in Evesham.

Officials say Sycamore Boulevard is closed, Kettle Run Road from Braddock Mill Road to Hopewell Road is closed and access to the Sturbridge Lakes Development is closed.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service says it drops water from helicopters in buckets carrying 350 gallons of water, as well as flashback and burn, the process of burning leaves and brush that could fuel a fire.

This is all to prevent nearby houses from burning down.

“We have been putting out fires every day for more than a month. “We had 400 fires statewide in October alone, which is a record,” said Greg Mclaughlin of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

The air of the surrounding neighborhoods was filled with smoke and ash. Backyards have layers of dried leaves and brush that haven’t been touched by rain in weeks.

News 12 found Hollie Donnan did her part. He was out front watering the leaf pile.

“I hose down anything that’s dry in case embers or ashes start falling, so another fire doesn’t start here,” he says. “Hopefully the smoke doesn’t get any thicker, but if it does we may have to push it out.”

Other homeowners use sprinkler systems to keep their lawns and properties wet and protected.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

A Red Flag Warning was issued statewide on Friday.

Previous reporting by News 12’s Chris Keating