A forest fire in northern Israel that threatened a church where Christians believe the transfiguration of Jesus took place was extinguished without the shrine being damaged, firefighters say.
The fire on Mount Tabor, where the Basilica of the Transfiguration is located, broke out Thursday and had been put out late Friday, but “small fires are rekindled every so often and teams at the site are dealing with them,” fire service spokesman Dudi Peretz tells AFP.
“The church was not damaged,” he says, noting the fire had burnt nearly 500 acres of shrubs, thorns and some trees.
Smoke billows during a forest fire on Mount Tabor in northern Israel’s Galilee region on July 26, 2019. (Menahem Kahana/AFP)
Police say arson is not suspected.
The basilica, built in 1924 by the Roman Catholic Franciscan order, sits atop the wooded Mount Tabor at a site where the Christian gospels say that Jesus — accompanied by disciples Peter, John and James — glowed with light and spoke with the prophets Moses and Elijah.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims visit the church every year, according to the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land, which oversees Roman Catholic properties in the area.
The church does not have a proper water supply or sewage network.
Holy Land Custos Brother Francesco Patton called on the Israeli authorities “to meet their legal obligations and ensure a regular supply of water to the mountain and sewage system, even if elementary.”
— AFP
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