Highway 6 northbound and Highway 444 near the Ben Shemen interchange were closed to traffic in both directions Wednesday afternoon after a brush fire broke out in the area. The blaze is also burning near Highway 1. Approximately 400 hikers are being evacuated from the area.
Israel Fire and Rescue Services said 12 firefighting crews were battling the blaze, supported by six firefighting aircraft conducting targeted water drops to contain the flames.
Fire in the area of Highway 444 near the Ben Shemen interchange
( tzilum: dovrot hameshtara, bo'ez liberman 34 / 5,000 Photo: Police Spokesperson, Boaz Lieberman)
As the fire intensified and conditions on the ground deteriorated, Fire and Rescue Commissioner Eyal Caspi ordered a nationwide mobilization of additional resources. Some 50 firefighting crews from districts across the country are now making their way to the area.
According to Fire and Rescue Services, firefighters are battling the rapidly spreading blaze in the Ben Shemen Forest, from the Hadid cemetery eastward toward Neot Kedumim, as strong winds fuel the flames.
Members of the elite Lahava rescue unit have also been dispatched to the area to help locate hikers and escort them out of the danger zone.