A large fire raged through the Jerusalem forest for several hours Sunday, threatening nearby residential areas and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum. After a six-hour battle, firefighters managed to bring the blaze under complete control. Authorities believe arsonists may have set the fire . Firefighters were alerted to the flames at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. When they arrived on scene at the Jerusalem forest near the Ravida stream and Beit Zayit community, they noted three additional fires raging in the region, one in the area of the Pi Glilot fuel terminal and two others within the Jerusalem forest. Four fire-fighting airplanes from the new squadron established following last December's disastrous Carmel forest fire were deployed alongside around 37 fire-fighting teams from all over Israel. They were joined by two civilian fire-fighting planes as well as several volunteers, including cadets currently enrolled in an officers' course for firefighters in Rishon Letzion. The firefighters' greatest fear was that Sunday's strong winds and low humidity would allow the rapidly spreading fire to reach the Pi Glilot fuel storage facility as well as Yad Vashem. All visitors and employees were evacuated from the museum while firefighters battled the flames. "The fire wasn't huge, but it was in a sensitive location, near fuel terminals and national treasures, and we were very afraid," Fire and Rescue Service Commissioner Shahar Ayalon said. The fire spread to the outskirts of the Ein Kerem, Bayit Vagan and Har Nof neighborhoods before it was totally contained. Residents didn't "take any chances," evacuated themselves Police and firefighters told residents to close and seal their windows to keep the thick smoke out of their houses. Some residents took the initiative and left the area on their own. "We're not taking any chances," said one Ein Kerem resident, who took several sentimental items and personal objects with her when she left. At the same time on Sunday, firefighters were also called to deal with a second blaze, in the area of Bar Gioria near the village of Batir. That fire, which threatened to spread to the town of Beitar Illit, was presumed to be unrelated to the four blazes in the Jerusalem forest. At around 6:30 p.m., three hours after the fire broke out, firefighters declared they had partial control over the Jerusalem flames and had succeeded in keeping them from spreading to the Pi Glilot fuel terminal. Two farms in the area sustained heavy damage, however, and a number of animals were hurt. Several hours later, after the wind died down and humidity rose, firefighters gained control of the fire. Around 9 p.m. they announced that it was completely under control. Nevertheless, the fire continued to burn all Sunday night and 12 fire-fighting teams, accompanied by police and ambulance services who remained nearby, continued their efforts through the night. Firefighters fear that renewed winds could cause the blaze to spread again and plan to continue their activities for several days. Due to the fact that the fire's four focal points are located near each other, police and firefighters suspect that the fire was caused by an arsonist who walked through the forest and consecutively started four small blazes. Jerusalem District Commander Maj. Gen. Niso Shaham has ordered an investigation into the cause. "Fire-fighting planes made a significant contribution" The commander of the IDF fire-fighting air squadron, who supervised the fire fighting from the air, on Sunday defined the fire as a "complex event." "This is an event that could have continued well into the night had it not been for our fire fighting planes." The fire fighting planes, which arrived at the site from both the north and south of the country, were over the flames within 40 minutes of the fire's outbreak, he explained. They carried out rapid sorties, assuring there was a plane over the forest every five minutes. "The smoke gave police and firefighters on the ground a lot of trouble, and that's why our planes made such a significant contribution," he said. Yad Vashem in danger At one point, the wildfire threatened to spread to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum and security forces evacuated visitors and employees from the site. Four maintenance workers sustained light injuries from smoke inhalation. Yad Vashem Director-General Nathan Eitan was critical of the firefighters' response. "It took them an hour to get here after we called them," he said of the firefighters. "We were forced to fight the fire ourselves with our maintenance staff. The fire was dozens of meters away from Yad Vashem. We just managed to stop it before it reached our archives and destroyed our most valuable treasures." "My window looks out over the valley where the fire broke out," said Dr. Leah Preis, a Yad Vashem researcher. "Within seconds we started seeing smoke and soon there was the strong smell of smoke in all our offices. I saw patches of thick black smoke and I realized that this was serious. I got very scared. A lot of people left Yad Vashem even before we were evacuated." Before firefighters were able to contain the blaze, there was a real fear that it would spread to the Har Nof neighborhood. Some residents evacuated, taking the community's Torah scrolls with them. "The fire came close to the Aviezri synagogue on Even Danan street, which is next to the Jerusalem forest," said Aharon Gatz, operations officer of the Israel Rescue and Hatzolah organization. "The smoke and flames were threatening the synagogue, so together with several congregants we immediately decided to evacuate four Torah scrolls." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received frequent updates on Sunday from fire commissioner Shahar Ayalon. Netanyahu praised both the firefighters and the pilots of the Elad squadron and thanked them for their success in battling the blaze.
The blaze started in four different points and managed to destroy hundreds of dunams (decares) of natural forest before being extinguished.
