| |
| Forest Fires in the Jerusalem Area (May 2016)
|
|
 |
The Jerusalem fire that broke out on Thursday, May 26th struck the Ramot Forest and the woodlands of Emek HaArazim, part of the Jerusalem Metropolitan Park, and threatened to reach homes in the Ramot neighborhood as it swept passed the Golda interchange to the 9/11 Memorial Plaza. The fire concentrated in two large blazes created by a combination of ten small ones. Thirty-two firefighters battled the fire, among them a large number KKL-JNF teams, who took part in extinguishing and preventing the further spread of the fire. Thirteen firefighting aircraft were employed, dropping foam and fire retardant and carrying out 58 missions. Altogether, there were 1,400 incidents requiring professional attention in extinguishing Lag B'Omer fires. KKL-JNF teams nationwide worked through the night and returned to work early the next morning.
The combination of human negligence and the particularly dry weather that followed the night of Lag B'Omer this year contributed to the spread of fire in the forest Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot. Residents in houses closest to HaArazim Valley Park (Emek HaArazim), were evacuated from their homes and allowed to return only many hours later.
According to KKL-JNF forestry professionals, some 50 hectares (125 acres) were burned, but work in assessing damage to the area will only be completed after a number of days. Neither forest picnic and recreation infrastructure nor the 9/11 Memorial were affected by the blaze. Our professionals inform us that time is the key element in deciding whether or not to replant certain areas of the burnt forest.
Click here for a video taken from the balcony of Shachar Levin, (brother of our colleague Einat Bahat), who lives on the edge of the forest.
| With all that is positively sunny, summer in Israel also means forest fires. They come in various sizes and intensities, burning KKL-JNF forests – the country's green lungs – and causing untold damage to the environment; flora and fauna, landscapes, property and most importantly, people. Just as devastating to the forest itself is the psychic pain endured by the people who live and work in fire damaged areas. Among them are KKL-JNF foresters, who plant and maintain the precious ecosystem, only to see them - along with the investment of KKL-JNF's work and resources, go up in smoke. The cost of rehabilitation is high, but thanks to our KKL-JNF partners in Israel and throughout the world we are constantly improving our firefighting capabilities and fire prevention activities. Included in these are the use of fire lookout towers and fire alerts; controlling weeds, which constitute fuel for fires; creating firebreaks; the introduction of grazing herds in fire-prone forests; professional fire drills; forging and repairing forest roads to enable the passage of fire trucks; and thinning and pruning forest trees.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Resources & Development Division |
|
