Jerusalem: Several countries were sending firefighting aircraft to Israel on Thursday as crews battled for a second day to extinguish a wildfire that had shut down a major highway linking Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and sent drivers scrambling from their cars. The fire broke out around midday in the hills outside Jerusalem on Wednesday, fuelled by hot, dry conditions and fanned by strong winds that quickly whipped up the flames burning through pine forests.
Several communities were evacuated as a precaution as the smoke turned the skies over Jerusalem gray. Many of the country’s independence day celebrations were cancelled as security forces were iverted towards the fire.
The fire has burned about 20 square kilometres and is the most significant fire Israel has seen in the past decade, according to Tal Volvovitch, a spokesperson for Israel’s fire and rescue authority. Israel’s fire and rescue authority warned the public to stay away from parks or forests, and to be exceptionally careful while lighting barbecues.