Firefighters Evacuate Towns Outside Jerusalem as Wildfire Blazes

Wildfire Forces Evacuations Near Jerusalem as Firefighters Respond

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Firefighters battling a wildfire in wooded hills outside Jerusalem evacuated more small communities on Monday as planes and crews fought flames for a second day.

The blaze some 10 km (6 miles) west of Jerusalem sent clouds of smoke east that billowed over the city. Medics said some people had been treated for smoke inhalation but that there had been no serious injuries.

Israel’s Fire and Rescue Authority said 75 crews and 10 planes were battling the blaze, which the country’s internal security minister said burned around 4,200 acres (17,000 hectares) on Sunday, forcing hundreds to evacuate.

Several more communities were evacuated on Monday, the Fire and Rescue Authority wrote on Twitter, while others were given evacuation orders. The authority’s commissioner announced a general mobilisation for personnel to help stop the blaze.

Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was considering requesting international assistance over the fires, just days after Israel sent planes and crews to Greece to help battle fires raging there https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/new-fire-burns-outside-athens-evacuations-ordered-2021-08-16.

Bennett’s office did not immediately provide comment on the reports.

In a meeting with fire and rescue officials late on Sunday, Bennett said he was concerned the blaze could reach Jerusalem’s western localities, including the area of Ein Kerem, home to Israel’s Hadassah Medical Center.

“Fire brigades are preparing a defensive position there,” Bennett said, warning that while he was hopeful crews would bring the blaze under control, “fires and winds have a capricious dynamic.”

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the fires, the Fire and Rescue Authority said.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; editing by Jonathan Oatis)