Officials: Still-Raging Israeli Wildfire Caused by Picnicking Family
- Posted on December 4, 2010 at 1:43pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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EIN HOD, Israel (AP) — Negligence, not arson, appears to have caused the worst forest fire in Israel’s history, police said Saturday as firefighters from around the world worked to quell the deadly blaze for a third consecutive day.
Two people were arrested in connection with the fire, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said without providing further details about the suspects. “We’re talking negligence at the moment,” Rosenfeld said.
Israel Radio, citing unidentified police officials, said the blaze likely was started by a family that failed to extinguish a picnic fire.
The blaze, which broke out Thursday, tore through the hilly pine Carmel Forest that clings to the mountain ridge above the northern city of Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city. It also lapped at the edges of small outlying communities.
The blaze has killed 41 people — most of them prison guards whose bus was engulfed by flames as they rushed to evacuate a prison. More than 17,000 people have been displaced.
Critics contrasted Israel’s helplessness in the face of a wildfire with its reputation for swift and effective responses to disasters abroad.
“We are experts in some tragedies but it seems we were not really prepared for an event related to fire,” said Hanan Goder, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, which is helping to coordinate the international response to the fire.
Israeli firefighters have complained for years of undersized crews, outdated equipment and minimal supplies. The country only has 1,400 firefighters, far below the worldwide average.
In the small artist community of Ein Hod, one woman desperately tried to protect her house from the encroaching flames with only a garden hose.
Another resident said he returned to his home after initially agreeing to evacuate.
“If we don’t protect our house, nobody will,” Gal Yarkoni told Israel’s Channel 10.
International aid continued to flow into Israel in an effort to quell the fire, which continued Saturday to rage out of control for a third day.
U.S. planes laden with equipment were expected to land later Saturday, alongside aircraft sent from New York City’s firefighting department, an Israeli military official said. French and Italian firefighting planes were also expected.
The aircraft are expected to join firefighters and planes that already have arrived from Bulgaria, Greece, Jordan, Turkey, Russia, Cyprus and Britain.
By Saturday, the fire had burnt some 15 square miles (40 square kilometers) of land — at least half of the Carmel national forest, Goder said.
While small by international standards, the loss of the verdant forest was keenly felt in Israel, where only 7 percent of the land is wooded.
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scout n ambush
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 10:27pmAnd this had to happen when for the first time ever 50 amish leaders were over there giving a formal apology for the way they have treated the jews over the years .Who could have imagined that would happen…… i am glad the U.S is helping NYFD has worked with them in israel before .May God keep them all and protect them.
Report Post »dontbotherme
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 8:06pmHave seen really bad fires in Utah. This brought back many scary memories. Prayers & God’s blessings to all.
Report Post »Tony Nagy
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 7:23pmThis is very sad to see. As a Canuck, we know all to well what un-knowledgeable careless people can do to start fires, especially in extremely hot and dry weather. As a tip you my fellow smokers, please keep a handy pop-can with a little water as your ashtray when you are driving outside the your city limits, just drop your butt in the can, and you wont take too much time, with your eyes off the road…. Hint, make sure you know which is your ashtray and real pop-can, or you’ll be pulling a Col. HawK and puking on the side of the road. :)
Report Post »Tony Nagy
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 7:25pmOooops> Error… change Col. HawK to yours truly… Dang it!
Report Post »scout n ambush
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 7:09pmIt’s a shame i have supported the tree planting that is going on there. For many years Israel was tree poor beacuse the ottoman turks had a tax on everything including trees so the people cut them down to keep from paying so much in taxes. IBA news says suspected arson along with israeli national news.That said good to see all those working together israel always offers help to everybody when they need it.
Report Post »SlimnRanger
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 3:57pmWow i had no idea they had forest
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 6:22pmI was thinking the same……….
Report Post »PIL
Posted on December 5, 2010 at 1:43amOf course they have a forrest, they also have rivers, lakes, mountains, and even snow skiing around the golan/Lebanon border. Israel has lots of stuff, it’s not just desert.
http://politicallyincorrectlibertarian.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/tunnel-of-censorship/
Report Post »DagneyT
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 2:45pmSounds like they need Smoky Bear in Israel.
Report Post »MeteoricLimbo
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 2:31pmTempts one to blame……
Report Post »neverending
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 2:12pmProbably one of barry boys buddies. Israel and all of the Jewish people need our thoughts and prayers.
J.C. McGlynn
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 1:59pmHelen Thomas started this one. Those zionists will learn their lesson.
Report Post »ARIZONA VETERAN
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 1:54pmhow much aid have the arab countries sent???? ZERO!!!
Report Post »cognitivedissonance
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 2:27pmThe Palestinian Authority sent firefighters:
The Palestinian Authority has also sent firefighting units to the disaster zone.
“The three units of the Palestinian civil defence were sent to assist in extinguishing the fires in the Carmel,” President Mahmoud Abbas’s office said in a statement.
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/12/04/israel-wildfire.html
Report Post »ARIZONA VETERAN
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 1:52pmi am still betting it was a rock throwing mooooslum that started the fire, they suck….
J.C. McGlynn
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 2:09pmMolotive cocktail, maybe?
Comment to below: They are practicing the Alinsky principle, break the system.
Report Post »Cake
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 2:16pmI don’t get it. Why is the blaze reporting it as negligence when israeli sites like http://www.debka.com are reporting multiple deliberate arson attacks? And I have yet to see those guys wrong.
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 3:35pmHere in Az it seems like most of the fires that take down huge tracks of forest are caused by irresponsible people who are not careful with thier fires. Maybe this causes a tendancy to assume that is what happened in Israel.
Report Post »HillBillySam1
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 6:42pmI just hope that it doesn’t inspire the Palestinian terrorists to change their tactics. They may see this as a better strategy to weaken Israel. The Israelis are very resourceful but if they start chasing their tails to prevent deliberate arsons and other civilian-oriented attacks, they may start losing their edge. Hezbollah is again armed to the teeth and the PLO may be on the verge of morphing into Hamas on steroids. If Abbas disbands his government in protest of Israeli construction projects, the PLO has no viable alternative other than strengthening Hamas. Gonna be a long Winter.
Report Post »Hillary has a much bigger problem than Wiki Leaks…..
tower7femacamp
Posted on December 4, 2010 at 9:47pmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4s0nzsU1Wg
Report Post »rdk
Posted on December 5, 2010 at 10:51amSaturday night, volunteer defense teams caught six individuals in the act of starting fires in different parts of Galilee.
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