A New Jersey brush fire that chewed through at least 1,500 acres of Wharton State Forest on Sunday wafted heavy smoke into neighboring states' air by Monday morning.
No one was injured by the fire, which hit 31 Batsto Road in Hammonton, N.J., located about 90 miles south of New York City. No deaths were reported. Officials from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection told NBC Philadelphia that the fire was contained halfway by Monday morning.
But the orange flames and billowing smoke persisted, moving smoke and ash as far as Northeast Philly and some parts of New York City.
Meteorologist at the National Weather Service Tim Morrin told the New York Times that the smoke lingered in certain areas of Staten Island and Brooklyn because of a unique weather system trapping the fumes.
"It was remarkable that the fire continued to burn overnight and kept putting out smoke," Morrin told the Times, adding that system prevented the smoke from diffusing into the atmosphere. "Normally, the humidity would have put it out."
Ground winds have blown the smoke into the city, while an event called inversion has simultaneously stoked the charred scent.
In an instance of inversion, temperatures increase with height, trapping pollution close to the ground.
"The inversion is acting like a lid, trapping the smoke," Morrin said.
Some residents of Brooklyn and Staten Island smelled smoke on Monday morning. According to the New York Times, residents all over the city noticed strange scents and sights at the beginning of the week.
Some told the Times that they thought a fire was burning nearby.
"It was so thick, I thought the house on the corner was on fire," 37-year-old Crown Heights, Brooklyn resident Jeremy Floto said.
NBC10 choppers reportedly saw smoke and fire moving toward Northeast Philadelphia, located about 40 miles from the site of the blaze, on Monday morning.
Weather officials predict an imminent rainstorm will clear up the smoky smell.
Authorities are still unsure what exactly caused the fire.