Dozens of fire crews, more than 50 vehicles, eight planes and three helicopters have been operating since noon (Wednesday) at three major fire sites in the Jerusalem Mountains area.
The main firefighting operations are focused on a plastics factory that caught fire in Moshav Even Sapir, causing a large fire that spread down the mountain slopes, to the nearby moshavims Ora and Aminadav, located not far from Hadassah Hospital. There is a danger to other factories in the area.
Residents living in the rows of houses near the fire in Moshav Ora, Aminadav and Even Sapir were immediately evacuated by fire and police forces.
At the same time, fire crews are dealing with two additional fires in the Jerusalem hills: a fire broke out in a natural forest in the Sensan Reserve in the area of the Tzur Hadassah settlement. Five fire crews are working to bring the fire under control and police forces are also on the scene. The crews are being assisted by two firefighting aircraft. Its powerPolice are preparing to close Highway 1 due to a fire spreading near the village of Lifta at the entrance to the capital and in the Cedar Valley.
The police are asking the driving public to use alternative routes, due to traffic congestion at the fire scenes, and are recommending that drivers leave Jerusalem via Highway 443.
In addition to preparations to block Highway 1, Highway 375 from Ein Kerem to Staft is completely blocked and only fire trucks are allowed to pass through. In addition, the police are reducing vehicle traffic on Highway 1 at the Ben Shemen Interchange and the Latrun Interchange and diverting it to Highway 433 to the east.
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