Fire department put on high alert ahead of Lag Ba'Omer; firefighters battle blazes near Yavne’el, Karkom, in Haifa, Rishon.
By JPOST.COM STAFFFire in Jerusalem area neighborhood of Even Sapir(photo credit: Arik Abuluf/Jerusalem Fire and Rescue)
A heat wave hit Israel on Saturday and caused several fires across Israel, ahead of Jewish holiday Lag Ba'Omer (bonfire night).Two people suffered from light burns from a forest fire in Ben Shemen Forest, Channel 10 reported. They were evacuated to hospital for treatment. The fire was reportedly started by BBQ embers that were not put out.Six teams of firefighters and four firefighter planes were battling strong dry winds to stop a wildfire that broke near Yavne’el. Residents from six homes in the area were evacuated as a precaution, even though there was no real danger to their safety, police said.More than ten firefighter crews were battling a factory fire near Rosh Ha’ayin, Channel 10 reported. All firefighters were evacuated from the building due to fear it might collapse.Earlier in the day, four teams of firefighters battled a blaze north of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) near Karkom.Firefighters also put out two fires in Rishon Lezion, and one at Kbabir neighborhood in Haifa, Army Radio reported.Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch has ordered an increase in firefighting forces and put the Fire Department on high alert ahead of Lag Ba'Omer and as a precaution due to the extreme weather conditions.Temperatures rose on Saturday throughout Israel and conditions were hot and dry in most areas.The hot conditions were expected to continue through Tuesday. The high forecast on Saturday for Tel Aviv was 35 degrees and 31 for Jerusalem.
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