View photos • Jerusalem in flames: Houses burned, hundreds of residents evacuated

June 25, 2014   

A huge forest fire has been raging since Wednesday afternoon near the Ein Kerem and Kiryat Yuval neighborhoods and near Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem.

About 50 fire crews and eight aircraft worked to control the flames, and by the evening They succeeded. Firefighters are currently working to contain the flames and prevent them from spreading further. Crews are preparing to maintain the current situation and prevent the fire from rekindling. Crews are also preparing for a long night during which they will deal with hundreds of small fires that are expected to burn overnight.

Police Commissioner, Major General Yohanan Danino, spoke this evening about the police's work: "Most of the places that caught fire have been extinguished, and there are almost no additional hotspots. All areas are under control. In recent hours, there have been several places where the fire has greatly endangered the area, and in some cases the fire has actually reached homes. Our goal is to return life here to normal, to make sure that the fire does not return, and our goal is to prevent people from returning to places where the risk level is high, to see that the electricity is restored and life returns to normal.".

Arson?

The cause of the fire is still unclear, but there is reasonable suspicion that it was arson. The police are investigating the circumstances of the incident. The fire affected the Kiryat Yuval neighborhood and on Shmaryahu Levin Street, five houses were reported to have burned completely.

Following the fire Pinata The police arrested hundreds of residents from the Kiryat Yuval neighborhood as well as workers from Yad Vashem.

Five people, including firefighters, were slightly injured from smoke inhalation and were treated at the scene by the Magen David Adom team.

The residents were evacuated. From Shmaryahu Levin, Blumenfield and Hantke streets. Residents were asked to leave their homes due to heavy smoke in the area - and the streets were closed to vehicle traffic.

The electricity company cut off the electricity to the evacuated streets as well as to Haim Habib and Meir Avner streets.

The management of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital also prepared for the event and convened a meeting in which it was decided to prepare for the evacuation of patients at the hospital, as well as for the evacuation of patients staying at the Alin Rehabilitation Hospital. Magen David Adom raised the alert level in the Jerusalem area to alert level three.

The United Hatzalah decided to go to the scene of the fire and scan the houses. Dvir Adni, a United Hatzalah medic, said: "I and many members of United Hatzalah are working in the area and we went from house to house to make sure that there are no residents who might be harmed. So far we have treated a number of victims who suffered from respiratory problems. Extensive damage was caused to a large number of apartments in the Ein Kerem neighborhood. This is a forest fire that spread and caused the houses to catch fire and burn.".

The incident commander for United Hatzalah, N.Bernstein heat, He said: "Dozens of paramedics from the Jerusalem branch of the United Hatzalah Emergency Unit are securing the firefighters' activities and are prepared to provide medical assistance if required.". So far, paramedics have treated five people with minor injuries, as a result of breathing problems due to smoke inhalation.".

Jerusalem Municipality: Light rail is operating

כבראי האש מסכמים: "בשריפה פעלו כחמישים צוותי כיבוי עם כמאתיים לוחמי אש מכל הארץ ובסיוע של שמונה מטוסי כיבוי. בנוסף בשריפה נשרפו בשכונת קריית יובל כחמישה בתים באורח קשה וכעשרה בתים נוספים ניזוקו מהשריפה. כמו כן לוחמי האש תוך כדי מאבק הירואי בלהבות מנעו מהאש להתפשט ולשרוף את יד ושם וכן את מרכז ציפורי. לאחר מאבק של שעות באש בסביבות השעה  19:30 הצליחו לוחמי האש להשיג שליטה על השריפה. ביער נשארו כעת עוד כחמישה עשר צוותים שיבצעו כיבוי סופי של מאות מוקדי בעירה קטנים במהלך כל הלילה. באירוע נפגעו שלושה כבאים באורח קל ואחד פונה לטיפול רפואי בבית חולים".

The Jerusalem Municipality said that the municipality's welfare teams are working to find accommodations for all residents who will not be able to spend the night at home through relatives. The municipality is preparing to provide additional accommodation solutions.

The municipality also announced that the light rail has returned to full operation.

[gallery] Photo: Moshe Malka, News 24