Power lines collapse, trees fall, fires break out as heatwave sweeps country

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Power lines collapsed, trees fell down and fires broke out across the country on Monday, as a 'sirocco,' a dry, hot wind from the Sahara, swept through Israel. Near Tel Aviv, a blaze broke out in three houses in Kfar Chabad. Firefighters evacuated residents, and no one was injured, though damage was caused. There were power outages in Sderot as a tree fell on power lines, and in Kiryat Gat, a road was closed to traffic as a result of another fire. In nearby Kibbutz Nahal Oz, fires erupted and two storage sheds caught ablaze. No casualties were reported. The Israel Meteorological Service said that the winds sweeping the country were hitting speeds of up to 80 kilometers/hour.