Smoke over Manalapan, choppers around the shore – all accounted for

Smoke overhead and choppers hovering - normally an ominous sign for inhabitants of thickly-forested sections of the shore, but not this time.

Anyone near Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Manalapan is likely to spot the smoke plumes. Inside are staffers from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, taking advantage of clear skies and low winds to conduct a controlled burn.

The supervised burns clear away dead underbrush that, if left untouched, becomes tinder for any smoldering cigarette or lit match tossed into it, potentially erupting into a forest fire. Our last major conflagration in 2006 began deep in southern Ocean County and marched northward into Monmouth and west into Burlington County, charring more than 20,000 acres.

The black helicopters, sporting the legend MD 500 in red and registration number N8330P on the tail, are from the Haverfield Corporation, contracted by Jersey Central Power and Light to conduct comprehensive visual inspections (CVI) of 230-kilovolt transmission lines throughout its service area. The project began Monday and runs three to four weeks.

Officials add that the choppers will approach the lines low and slowly, about 10 miles per hour, hovering and circling. Crews send data to JCP&L's transmission line maintenance department and the Federal Communications Commission. Pilots maintain contact with nearby airfields.