Authorities say ‘no dramatic incidents’ after concern over renewed Jerusalem area fires
Fire service says ‘several smoke locations being monitored’ but that ‘everything is under full control’; blaze in Ramle subdued after several homes on edge of central city evacuated
A series of fires broke out in central Israel on Friday, a day after firefighters managed to gain control of massive blazes that ravaged the Jerusalem hills area for roughly 30 hours.
Friday’s blazes — in the Latrun area near Jerusalem — were smaller, though, and the Fire and Rescue Service announced in the evening that there were ” no dramatic incidents” in the area.
“Several smoke locations are being monitored, firefighting forces and firefighting aircraft continue to operate, and everything is under full control,” the service said.
The Israeli Air Force was not activated to fight the blazes on Friday, like they were earlier this week, as the service said the fires were under control.
A separate fire earlier Friday in the central city of Ramle was more substantial, requiring the brief evacuation of some of the residents on the town’s eastern edge.
Five firefighting crews were dispatched to Ramle in order to gain control of the fire.
It came after huge wildfires raged on Wednesday and yesterday, burning some 20,000 acres and causing highways to be blocked for many hours and several communities to be temporarily evacuated.
The blaze forced the cancellation of most Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday night. The scale of destruction was similar to that of the 2010 Carmel fire, though that fire killed 44 people, while the Jerusalem hills fire did not cause serious injuries.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attributed the fire to Palestinian arson, and wrongly claimed 18 people had been arrested in connection with it. Police have said only three suspects were arrested, and Hebrew media reported that a preliminary assessment by the fire service indicated that the blazes were likely caused primarily by negligent hikers, not arson.
Meanwhile, President Isaac Herzog said in an Independence Day event at his Jerusalem residence Thursday that the fires were “part of the climate crisis, which must not be ignored.”
The Times of Israel Community.