they're "setting back fires", which sounds like thefiremen from Farenheit 451
>500 acres. Isn't that all of NJ?
no
new jersey is 8,723 square miles:
https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/2010/geo/state-area.html
according to this converter
https://www.unitconverters.net/area/square-miles-to-acres.htm
8,723 square miles is 5,582,720 acres.
so, that's about 0.009% of the state