Ring of fire surrounds New Jersey mansions as wild blaze burns out of control

Dramatic footage captured a ring of fire that threatened to light up 20 mansions in New Jersey as the 40-acre blaze wildly burned out of control.

The massive fire, which has been dubbed the 'Big Rusty Wildfire', engulfed areas of Hainesport, in Burlington County, shortly before 6pm Monday evening.

Directly above the scene, footage from an ABC6 helicopter showed the edge of the wildfire creeping up towards a neighborhood cul-de-sac - threatening to overrun the backyards of its residents. 

'Very scary,' Jennifer Maffie, a resident, told the outlet. 'I never would've thought this would ever happen. We've lived here for 20 years and we've been very fortunate to not have any sort of fires in our backyard.'

Video footage also captured the dark sky lighting up with a soft hue of reddish-orange as the flames outlined the perimeter of yards - all while firefighters battled the fire with ground crews and fire engines.

Forest fire crews were able to move the blaze away from 20 homes - which were initially said to be in danger - and contained Big Rusty by 20 percent that same evening - fortunately avoiding any evacuations or devastations.

Despite the lingering smell of smoke over residential areas and a few flames burning at the end of fallen branches, the fire posed little risk of spreading further after being 50 percent contained by Tuesday morning.

The fire prompted an investigation into the cause, but forest fire services have responded to more than 530 blazes since early October as dry weather continues to plague dozens of areas across the East Coast.