Fires near Jerusalem burn for second day but roads, towns reopen with foreign aid on way

Over 100 teams of firefighters continued to battle fires in the hills west of Jerusalem for a second day Thursday, but appeared to make gains in containing the blazes overnight, with firefighting planes from European allies expected to arrive later in the day.

As Israelis celebrated Independence Day, authorities reopened roads that had been closed a day earlier and let all evacuated residents return home, but warned that the fires remained uncontained and could flare back up later Thursday.

“At this stage we still have not gained control [of the fires],” the Fire and Rescue Service said in a statement Thursday morning.

The KKL-JNF estimated Thursday morning that some 20,000 dunams (4,900 acres) had been burned in the blazes, including 13,000 dunams (3,200) of woodland, with Canada Park outside the city of Modi’in suffering particularly extensive scorching.

The fires in the Jerusalem hills area erupted Wednesday morning, ripping through the outskirts of the capital as a stifling heatwave and strong winds fed the spread of the flames.

The fires, which an official said could be Israel’s largest-ever, forced 10 communities to evacuate and shut down several roads, including the main highway linking Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

A spokeswoman for the Fire and Rescue Service said just before noon Thursday that authorities had authorized residents from Sha’ar Hagai, Mesilat Zion, Beit Meir, Shoresh, Neve Ilan, Yad Hashmona and Nataf to return.

Residents of Mevo Horon, a West Bank settlement near the Israeli city of Modiin, were permitted to return home earlier Thursday. Residents of Eshtaol and Mishmar Ayalon had been allowed back home Wednesday.

There were no reports of significant damage from the fires in any of the towns.

Despite the ongoing blazes, the Israel Police announced earlier Thursday morning that it was reopening the Route 1 highway and other roads near Jerusalem that had been blocked off.

A day earlier, motorists had been forced to abandon their vehicles as the flames closed in on the major highway.

A train line linking Jerusalem and Tel Aviv was also reopened.

The Fire and Rescue Service said late Thursday that there were 126 teams working to extinguish six separate wildfires in the region west of Jerusalem, down from 163 teams that had been called into the fight a day earlier.

“Firefighters are working in harsh conditions,” fire chief Eyal Caspi said. “The teams have been working for long hours almost without stopping to rest.”

A Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson declined to answer if progress had been made in getting the blazes under control or to detail how much of the fire remained uncontained.

Though Thursday morning saw a drop in temperatures and chances of a slight drizzle, officials warned that fires could surge again in the afternoon with winds expected to pick up and temperatures to increase.

The ongoing blazes put a damper on Independence Day, traditionally marked by throngs of Israelis packing parks and nature sites, grills in hand. Authorities warned picnickers and hikers to stay away from several national parks and nature reserves in fire-stricken areas.

A nationwide ban on lighting fires and barbecues in open areas was in effect, a Fire and Rescue Service spokeswoman confirmed to The Times of Israel.

Aerial video from the site of fires showed huge swaths of land turned black from the flames.

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The blazes stretched the resources of the firefighting service, prompting the Israel Defense Forces to join the effort and pleas for international aid.

Cyprus and Italy were expected to send eight planes Thursday to assist the embattled Israeli emergency services, authorities said. There were also offers of help from Ukraine, Spain, France, Romania and Croatia.

A French diplomat said it had offered two Canadair CL-415s but Israeli authorities were assessing whether the planes were needed.

In the meantime, 10 out of 14 Israeli firefighting planes were working to extinguish the conflagrations, the fire service said.

Health officials said 17 firefighters suffered injuries, including two who were taken to hospitals. Over a dozen people, including two pregnant women and two infants, were hospitalized Wednesday, mostly for smoke inhalation and burns.

With the firefighting teams stretched thin, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered the military to assist in battling the flames.

Four Israeli Air Force C-130J Super Hercules heavy transport planes, known in the IAF as Shimshon, operated throughout the night, dropping over 95 loads of fire retardant material, the military said Thursday morning. The IAF also sent ground firefighting teams.

The Home Front Command and Technological and Logistics Directorate provided more than 50 fire engines. The Home Front Command also drafted reservist firefighters to assist with the efforts.

The Technological and Logistics Directorate also provided containers with over 300,000 liters of water, along with equipment and food for the firefighting teams. The directorate set up three rest stops for the troops and other rescue forces, the military said.

Additionally, the IDF said it used dozens of heavy construction vehicles to prevent the fires from spreading.

The Military Intelligence Directorate was also assisting, with its Unit 9900, which specializes in VISINT, or visual intelligence, carrying out several aircraft and satellite sorties over the fires to map out the main blaze sites.

The Israeli Air Intelligence Group — the IAF’s intel unit — set up a task force to analyze the blazes, and the Intelligence Directorate’s Operational Operations Division “is synchronizing a variety of resources to help analyze the area of the fires and direct fire and rescue forces,” the IDF added.

In addition to the firefighting crews battling the fires outside of Jerusalem, a Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said that 24 firefighting teams and four volunteer units had been dispatched Wednesday to put out several blazes across northern Israel, including near Afula, Rumat al-Heib and Ramat Zvi.

An additional 12 teams from northern Israel were dispatched south to assist in fighting the fires outside of Jerusalem.

Before sunrise Thursday, firefighters rescued three people from a fire that broke out at a senior living facility in the central coastal city of Bat Yam. The fire service said several people were taken to hospitals with light injuries, including an 80-year-old man.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.