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Post by shalom on Aug 16, 2021 16:20:02 GMT -5
Fire chief: Massive blaze near Jerusalem hopefully contained but may surge again
Greece, Cyprus ready to help as fire on capital’s outskirts still burning in 100 hotspots; 2,000 evacuated; 5,000 acres destroyed; Hadassah Hospital safe for now after long battle By TOI STAFF Today, 5:05 pmUpdated at 9:46 pm Israel’s top firefighting official was cautiously optimistic on Monday evening that the country’s worst wildfire in years had been contained, hours after it began to encroach on Jerusalem’s southern neighborhoods and to threaten the capital’s largest hospital. “Tomorrow, 88 firefighting teams will continue to fight this fire,” Fire and Rescue Commissioner Dedi Simchi told reporters at a briefing outside Jerusalem on Monday night. “I hope and believe we’ll finish this tomorrow.” The enormous wildfire consumed some 20,000 dunams (5,000 acres) of forest outside Jerusalem since Sunday. Firefighters believed they had managed to contain the blaze the night before, but strong morning winds and low humidity on Monday sent the flames roaring back and speeding toward villages and towns throughout the hills on Jerusalem’s southwest outskirts, triggering the evacuation of some 2,000 local residents and prompting the government to seek international aid. Multiple towns and villages near the Sataf forest area and along the Route 1 highway that connects Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were threatened by the resurgent blaze, officials said. Kiryat Yearim, Tzova, Ein Rafa, Ein Nakuba, Sho’eva, the Eitanim psychiatric hospital, Shoresh, Har Etan and other towns and villages were evacuated as firefighters deployed along Jerusalem’s southern perimeter to establish a defensive line against the spread of the fire toward the capital. Continued at link
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