After 20-hour battle, massive brush fire near Jerusalem brought under control
Over 100 firefighting trucks, six planes involved in effort; residents allowed to return home; 10,000 dunams believed burned, with minor damage to property
After a battle of more than 20 hours, firefighting crews gained control over a massive brush fire that had forced the evacuation of several towns and communities near Jerusalem, the Fire and Rescue Services said in a statement Thursday.
No residents were hurt in the blaze, which erupted as a heatwave swept the country, and there was only minor damage to property. A number of firefighters were lightly hurt, with two hospitalized after inhaling smoke.
Fire officials assessed that 10,000 dunams (2,471 acres) of land had been burned by the fire.
“The incident will be over in the coming hours,” Fire and Rescue Commissioner Eyal Caspi said in a statement after a situational assessment.
Over 100 firefighting teams were involved in efforts at five locations. Six firefighting aircraft were also deployed during the marathon efforts to control the blaze. Fire crews worked alongside teams from the KKL-JNF Jewish National Fund and volunteers.
The statement noted that all affected communities had been able to return to routine and that no roads were now closed.
Eshtaol, Beit Meir, and Mesilat Zion were cleared of residents on Wednesday as a result of the blaze in the Beit Shemesh area, and police shut down Route 38, a key traffic artery from the area to Jerusalem. Route 1 was closed from 11 p.m. to midnight so that firefighters could carry out measures to prevent future blazes.
Fires were still burning during the morning in the Beit Meir area and to the west of the community, where fire crews strove to prevent flames from spreading toward Rabin Park. Aircraft were also involved in those efforts.
Other fires were still going, though under control, at Mesilat Zion, the Eshtaol Forest, Neve Shalom and Neve Ilan.
The fire department asked the public to stay away from areas where there are still pockets of flames. It stressed that people should not send up drones over those areas, as they are a danger to firefighting aircraft.
On Wednesday, three firefighters and a policewoman were injured during efforts to control the fires.
בעקבות שריפה בשטח פתוח: כביש 6 נחסם לתנועת כלי רכב במחלף שורק לצפון ובמחלף נשרים לדרום. אנשים עוזבים רגלית את הרכבים מהכביש בגלל השריפה@noam_goldberg1 pic.twitter.com/mpGyfGmy3q
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 23, 2025
The fire initially broke out close to Moshav Tarum near Beit Shemesh. Strong winds whipped up the flames as teams fought the blaze on the ground with support from aircraft.
In addition to over one hundred firefighting squads, fire engines belonging to the Israeli Air Force and the army’s Technological and Logistics Directorate operated alongside the Fire and Rescue Service and Israel Police.
An IAF aircraft also assisted with building an “aerial picture” of the fire while members of the Home Front Command were dispatched to assist with evacuating civilians from areas under threat.
A second, separate blaze Wednesday neared Route 6, a major highway, forcing police to temporarily close the road near the towns of Petahia and Pedaya. Footage on social media showed crowds of people walking along the highway near Rehovot surrounded by heavy smoke.
The vast majority of forest fires in Israel are caused by humans and are usually the result of negligence.
The Israel Meteorological Service had warned of “extreme” weather on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the potential for record-breaking temperatures. Israel experiences long, hot and dry summers, with conditions ripe for wildfires. Large blazes broke out in 1989, 1995, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
A scathing report by the state comptroller in July 2024 found that the Fire and Rescue Authority had investigated the cause of only about 9 percent of the fires it handled in 2022, and 14% of those it dealt with in 2023. More than 50% of the probes it opened between 2020 and 2022 were still open after a year.
The Times of Israel Community.