Hundreds of firefighters still battling Jerusalem-area blazes

Firefighters scramble to contain massive blazes outside Jerusalem, fueled by record heat and high winds.

By World Israel News Staff

More than 100 crews were fighting massive blazes in the area of the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Shemesh on Thursday morning. The fires began on Wednesday, as scorching temperatures and high winds sparked intense brushfires in the Mateh Yehuda region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fire Commissioner Eyal Caspi and Police Commissioner Danny Levy held a situational assessment on Wednesday evening to allocate additional resources for extinguishing the blazes.

Jerusalem District fire crews are being supported by Samson fire-extinguishing planes and special firefighting helicopters, along with additional crews from Israel’s northern district and KKL-The Jewish National Fund.

Overnight, the Samson aircraft dropped large quantities of fire retardant throughout wooded areas in the region in an attempt to stop the blazes from spreading.

Six firefighting planes are continuing to circle the area, providing support to firefighting crews on the ground.

Multiple communities in the area, along with critical roads, were evacuated on Wednesday due to concerns that the blazes could threaten human life.

Late Wednesday evening, the roads were re-opened, and residents of Eshtaol, Beit Meir and Mesilat Zion were able to return to their homes.

Train and bus services in the area, which had been paused on Wednesday, also resumed on Thursday morning.

Officials estimate that some 10,000 dunams (2,471 acres) of land were burned so far, Mako reported. Several firefighters, a policewoman and two civilians were said to have been lightly injured.

Authorities believe that the origin of the fire was natural and do not suspect it was caused by arson.

The major wildfire comes on the heels of the Third Lebanon War, which saw tens of thousands of acres burned in northern Israel. Near-daily rocket, missile and explosive drone attacks by Hezbollah scorched much of Israel’s most pristine green forests.