Firefighters gain control over West Bank blaze

Firefighters in the northern West Bank succeeded Sunday in bringing under control a large forest fire that led to the evacuation of dozens of residents.

Eight firefighting teams and six planes were used to battle the blaze, which destroyed two buildings in the settlement of Elon Moreh.

“Dozens of firefighters and volunteers succeeded in surrounding the fire,” Asaf Avras, spokesperson for the Judea and Samaria Fire Department, told Channel 2 news. “There is no danger to residents, but two abandoned caravans did burn up.”

Avras also explained that the direction of the wind was actually helping firefighters control the flames.

The fire is believed to have been started by an Israel Defense Forces flare, which was discovered near the scene, Yossi Dagan, head of the local regional council, told Channel 2 news.

“The fire began last night, after two Palestinians tried to enter the settlement,” he said. “Our teams found the flare which, it seems, started the fire in the forest. Last night we gained control over the fire, but it broke out again this afternoon.”

The past few days have seen a rash of fires across Israel, including a huge blaze outside Beit Shemesh in which 1,500-2,000 dunams (370-494 acres) of land caught fire.

The Beit Shemesh fire was the largest in Israel since the devastating 2010 fire in the Carmel region near Haifa, which killed 44 people and forced more than 17,000 people to be evacuated from their homes.

Firefighters were still working, however, to put out another fire in the West Bank, this one in the Etzion region.

Smaller fires were also reported on Sunday in Petah Tikva and Hadera.