Jerusalem fire update: immediate danger has passed

By Ken Segel

Jewish National FundJERUSALEM — I  was in Jerusalem on Thursday, May 26, when the fire there raged through numerous communities. A day later, the Jerusalem forest that was ablaze in flames is still smoldering in places, but the immediate danger has passed. Thankfully no one was injured. 10 homes were damaged but not destroyed.

More than 200 firefighters and 65 fire apparatus from Jerusalem and central Israel fought the fire and were able to stop it before it reached the line of homes – many of those trucks were provided by JNF.

Unfortunately, almost 200 acres of forest was destroyed — that’s a lot of trees. All 13 of Israel’s firefighting planes were deployed to extinguish the flames from the air, flying more than 58 sorties.

Like our own “bravest” in the U.S., Israel’s Fire & Rescue Services are professional firefighters who are used to combating fires on difficult terrain, in adverse weather and with little rest. Thankfully, the land and people of Israel are safer today because of them and I am so proud that Jewish National Fund is a partner with these dedicated men and women.

I went to the fire site on Friday as well as to JNF’s 9/11 Living Memorial Plaza, which is situated in the heart of the forest that burned. I saw first-hand how heroic and hard the firefighters worked to extinguish the flames and how they were able to contain it — just ten feet shy of the plaza and the memorial.

See photos of the fire and restoration efforts here.

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Segel is campaign vice president of JNF