Weather becomes a factor

No deaths or injuries have been reported.
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) -- Firefighters battling a wildfire that apparently began when a military jet dropped a flare on a bombing range hoped a rainstorm Wednesday would help them douse the flames.
But they also kept their eyes on high winds associated with the storm that whipped up columns of flame and smoke that could worsen the blaze.
The fire, which began Tuesday, sent walls of flames 80 to 100 feet high racing toward senior citizen communities. Elderly residents grabbed their pets and fled.
"I didn't grab anything but the cat and myself, and we scrammed," said Helen Sura, who spent a sleepless night with her pet, aptly named Smoky, in a Burger King parking lot.
No deaths or injuries
No deaths or injuries had been attributed to the fire, but at least 13 homes were damaged or destroyed and about 6,000 people were evacuated from 2,500 homes along the border between Ocean and Burlington counties. About 115 people were in shelters Wednesday evening, authorities said.
Nearly a third of the fire was contained as of midday Wednesday. The rain falling on the flames created huge plumes of white steam that mixed with the gray and black smoke, and officials were watching the weather carefully.
A portion of the Garden State Parkway, one of the state's main north-south routes, was closed briefly Wednesday because dense smoke made it difficult for motorists to see. It was reopened later in the day.
Lt. Col. James Garcia, a spokesman for the New Jersey Air National Guard, said the fire was believed to have been started Tuesday afternoon with a flare dropped from an F-16 fighter jet.
Other fires
Two other major fires were also burning Wednesday in the United States.
Along the Florida-Georgia state line, firefighters were making progress against a blaze that had charred 390 square miles across the two states and forced the evacuation of more than 700 homes. Calm air Wednesday allowed firefighters to strengthen their containment lines, said Jim Harrell, a spokesman for the Florida Division of Forestry.
In northern Minnesota, some residents chased from their homes by a forest fire on the Gunflint Trail were told they could return. The fire has burned 117 square miles of Minnesota and Canada, and 61 homes and twice as many other structures have been destroyed. But two days of wet, cool weather have helped firefighters get the blaze 55 percent contained on the U.S. side and 20 percent contained in Canada.
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