Communities evacuated as massive brushfires rage near Jerusalem, Route 1 closed
Neve Shalom, Beko’a, Ta’oz, Nachshon and Latrun cleared of people as roads blocked; dozens of firefighting units, planes battle flames
Large brushfires were blazing Wednesday in the Eshtaol Forest on the outskirts of Jerusalem, forcing the evacuations of some communities and the closure of roads.
It was the second time in the space of a week that fires in the hills to the west of the capital have led to the evacuation of residents.
The Fire and Rescue Service reported fires were raging in at least five places in the Jerusalem hills.
The fire came amid a heatwave and strong winds that made it difficult to bring the blaze under control.
The communities of Neve Shalom, Beko’a, Ta’oz, and Nachshon were evacuated along with the military memorial in Latrun, interrupting a memorial ceremony at the site. The nearby monastery was also evacuated.
Police were told to prepare for the possible evacuation of Mesilat Zion as well.
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority said it was evacuating hikers from a number of parks in the area.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Route 1, the main highway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, was closed, and police called on people to avoid the area. Nearby Route 3 was also closed, as were routes 65, 70, and 85.
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Train traffic between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv was also canceled.
A command center was set up in the IKEA branch in the Eshtaol area, Ynet reported. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman were heading to the location.
There were 63 firefighting teams and 11 aircraft battling the flames, the rescue service said.
The service had issued a general call-up of all members in the Jerusalem area, then later expanded that to draw in units from across the country. Magen David Adom emergency service ambulances and response vehicles were put on standby to assist in the case of injuries.
Last Wednesday and Thursday, 10,000 dunams (2,471 acres) of land were burned in a fire that took 100 fire units over 20 hours to bring under control.
No residents were hurt in that 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.
The vast majority of forest fires in Israel are caused by humans and are usually the result of negligence.
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.