Brush fires flared up in the Meadowlands near the Izod Center creating large, black plumes of smoke visible for miles.

Meadowlands brush fire
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At least 15 fire companies from the surrounding area are battling the blaze which has so far burned 60 acres according to the Record.

Carlstadt’s fire chief expects the fire to burn itself out Wednesday night.

No buildings are involved in the fires. As the afternoon commute began major traffic delays were  reported as traffic was diverted from the western spur of the New Jersey Turnpike. The highway, however, was never fully closed.

The fires broke out around 1:15PM and grew quickly to 3 alarms according to WNBC.

Bill Sheehan, the executive director of the Hackensack River Keeper and the president of the Meadowlands Conservation Trust says the fire, as long as it stays away from buildings, is good for the ecology. “Within five to six weeks it will all be green and you won’t know that there was ever a fire out there,” Sheehan told The Record.

It’s the third day in a row a major fire has broken out in the state. A fire earlier this week burned nearly 1000 acres in the Pinelands in Tabernacle and another fire in Barnegat charred 20 acres near a residential area.

Although conditions remain dry with low humidity, a Red Flag Warning was not issued today by the National Weather Service.

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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