November was driest on record, Water Authority says

November 2016 was the driest on record in Israel’s history, which helped contribute to a wave of fires that ravaged the country last week.

According to the Israel Water Authority, this November had the least rain of any November since measurements began in the 1920s, Hebrew-language Walla News reported.

From November 18 to November 26, firefighters battled 1,773 brush fires around Israel and the West Bank, according to Fire Services spokesman Yoram Levy.

Most of the fires were caused by the incredibly dry weather and incidents of negligence, though officials have pointed to arson for at least some of them.

Hardest hit was Haifa, where 527 apartments were destroyed completely, leaving 1,600 people homeless, and from which tens of thousands of residents had to be evacuated as the flames threatened 11 neighborhoods.

Zichron Yaakov, the Jerusalem Hills and parts of the West Bank were also affected, with dozens of homes damaged or destroyed.

Tens of thousands of dunams of forest and scrubland were also burned.

On Thursday, unusually late winter weather finally arrived in Israel, with rain in much of the country and snow in the north.