Massive wildfires in Jerusalem were still blazing on Monday as more than 17,000 dunams of land have been scorched by the conflagration that erupted less than 24 hours earlier.
The fires, one of the biggest to break out in the past few years, have forced some 10,000 locals to evacuate their homes.
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Damage caused by the massive wildfire near Jerusalem
(Photo: Israel Nature and Parks Authority)
The residents of moshavim of Shoresh, Sho'eva, Beit Meir and Ksalon near Jerusalem were allowed to return home having been evacuated on Sunday.
Moshav Ramat Raziel and the Eitanim psychiatric hospital were still off-limits, with efforts ongoing to fend away the rapidly advancing flames from Even Sapir and Aminadav.
The Fire and Rescue Service said that 17,000 dunams (4,200 acres) had been damaged in the fire.
"Fire is still active on five fronts, but that does not put any inhabitants in danger for the moment," Jerusalem fire chief Shlomi Ben Yair told Army Radio on Monday morning.
"We are focusing on efforts to help emergency services and families evacuated from their homes," he added.
Fire and Rescue Commissioner Dedi Simchi said 12 firefighting planes were deployed along with crews from some 60 fire engines.
"I am glad to say that we managed to prevent entire communities from being burned," Simchi said in a briefing to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Internal Security Minister Omer Barlev, some five hours after the fire erupted.
He said they no longer faced any "critical danger", although "there are some pockets, where homes have caught fire which we are extinguishing".
Bennett said during a statement to the media following the briefing that “it’s not over till it’s over,” saying efforts were moving “in a positive direction.”
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Interior Security Minister Omer Barlev and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett being briefed by Fire and Rescue Commissioner Dedi Simchi
(Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)
He praised firefighters, police, IDF soldiers and the rest of the rescue workers for their work.
In the meantime, a 25-year-old patient was still missing since he lost contact with others during the evacuation of the psychiatric hospital on Sunday as flames approached the town of Givat Ye’arim. Officials estimated that there was not an immediate danger to his life.
A second patient who had gone missing was located sometime before midnight.