Reignited blaze threatening to spread onto moshav

Firefighters battled two large blazes near central Israel into the early hours of Tuesday, as dry, hot weather and the extended Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer continued to leave the country scorched.

In the Lachish region, crews struggled to control a wide blaze that threatened to spread into the town of Amatzia.

Fire chief Shahar Ayalon told the NRG news site that police were considering evacuating the moshav.

“We are currently fighting to suppress the fire. Dozens of crews from all over are taking part in the effort, and we had used eight firefighting planes, but with the onset of darkness, we stopped the flights and are trying to hold off the fire so it doesn’t spread to Amatzia,” he said.

The fire was a reignited remnant of a blaze that had scorched nearly 8,000 acres near Beit Guvrin earlier in the day, forcing the closure of the popular park and area roads. 

Meanwhile, firefighting crews took control of one fire near the Mitkan Adam military base west of Modi’in by 2 a.m. Tuesday after the blaze threatened to spread onto the base and destroy an armory.

A number of soldiers were moved off the base, which is home to Israel’s counter terror school, and two were treated for smoke inhalation. Firefighters expressed fears that the fire could reignite during the night or the next day.

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Earlier Monday, some 20 firefighting crews and planes had battled a large brush fire near Beit Guvrin.

The “extreme heat and wind” make the task of extinguishing the fire “very difficult,” one firefighter told Israel Radio.

Over 70 fires were reported across the country on Monday, most of them related to Lag B’Omer holiday bonfires from the night before.

Most of the fires were in Israel’s south, where the dry plants easily burned. Two fires broke out near Jerusalem, while another large fire was put out near Kadima in central Israel.

Several families in Tiberias were evacuated after a brush fire threatened to consume their homes.

Israel is expected to experience several more days of unseasonably hot and dry weather before temperatures take a slight dip over the weekend.

The Lag B’omer holiday, which marks the date of the death of first century kabbalist Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, is traditionally celebrated with large bonfires.

Though the holiday fell on Saturday night and Sunday, the Chief Rabbinate pushed it off by a day, leading to two nights of large fires as many chose to mark the day on its traditional date.

On Sunday, 11 people were treated for smoke inhalation at Maasiyahu prison in Ramle after a fire broke out there.

Saturday also saw several fires, with two hikers lightly injured in the Ben Shemen forest near Modi’in.