“The fire is extremely intense, one of the most important in Israel in recent years, even of all time. We position ourselves at key points to contain fire, but it is a complex event and we are defensive,” said the chief of the firefighters of the district of Jerusalem, Shmulik Friedman.
Since Wednesday morning, a gigantic forest fire has been raging and has spread quickly in the lowlands of Judea, leading to the evacuation of thousands of inhabitants of the region. Currently, five fire households are active: Highway 3, which has been closed to traffic, Canada Park, in Rishon Lezion, Neve Shalom, Mesilat Zion and Mitzpe Harel.
More than 150 firefighters are trying to turn off the fire that broke out on Wednesday in the foothills of Jerusalem, causing the cancellation of the commemorations of Yom Hazikaron (Souvenir day) and Yom Haatsmaout celebrations (independence day).
The spokesman for firefighters and rescue services, Ziv Aqua, told i24NEWS That the firefighters “worked all night and continue to work to contain the fire, but that it will still take many hours before it is fully mastered”. The weather conditions are relatively good today “.
“We focus most of our efforts on controlling fire,” he added, while Wednesday, the rescuers evacuated the inhabitants of the affected communities.
More than a dozen people were injured by flames and smoke, motorists who have abandoned their vehicles on the main roads. Three of the injured are still in the hospital, the others were authorized to leave the hospital.
