Fires Rage Across Israel
Stand for Israel | May 23, 2019
This week temperatures have soared across the Holy Land, which has led to the spread of many dangerous fires. The Times of Israel reports that the widespread infernos have led to Israeli authorities evacuating homes and closing major roadways across the country:
Fires raged across Israel on Thursday, forcing residents of several communities to flee their homes and blocking major roads as temperatures soared throughout the country in what authorities said was an “extreme” heat wave.
Firefighters were battling a large fire in the Ben Shemen Forest near the central city of Modiin. Some residents in the nearby communities of Kfar Daniel, Mevo Modiim and Gimzo were evacuated from their homes and Route 443, a key road linking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, was closed…
Noga, a Harel resident who runs a day care in the kibbutz and was evacuated by firefighters together with the children in her care, told the Maariv news site, “The most important thing is that the kids are okay. Everyone is okay. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my entire life on the kibbutz.”
She said residents “were being taken to villages nearby. I hope my home is okay. I understand a few homes were damaged.”
The head of Fire and Rescue Services called up all firefighters in the central region in light of the large number of blazes in the area.
Near the city of Beit Shemesh, to the southwest of Jerusalem, six firefighting planes were called in to help extinguish a series of fires that had been raging since the morning…
Temperatures hit 37° C (99° F) in Tel Aviv and 43° C (110° F) in Beersheba in the Negev. The heatwave is set to peak Friday before letting up on Saturday…