No less than 600 firefighters are on alert status today, Wednesday, 9 Sivan, as a sweltering heatwave is expected.  These firefighters are standing by just to address reports of forest fire. In addition, twelve firefighting planes are standing by to deal with forest fires due to the extreme hot and dry conditions.

Temperatures over recent days have been hot and conditions dry, but the heatwave is expected to reach its peak on Wednesday, with predictions of over 100 F temperatures during the afternoon hours in Yerushalayim. Some areas, including Eilat, Beit Shemesh, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Beit Shean and Hebron to name a few are expected to exceed 105 F and closing in on 110 F in a number of areas!

Israel’s Fire Services are standing by and operations officers are carefully monitoring weather conditions and planes and other equipment remain on-call, ready to respond on a moment’s notice in the hope of containing any reported forestry blaze. Officials are pleading to the public not to begin any camp fires in any open areas without exception.

Adhering to recommendations from the fire service, the Carmel Park will be closed to visitors on Wednesday in the hope of preventing fires. A reminder to readers, if one needs fire services one dials 102 anywhere in Israel.

Last week there was a fire in the Carmel area of Haifa known as Little Switzerland, leading to fears that campers were trapped by the blaze. B’chasdei Hashem they managed to get out in time.

Fire officials also passed memorandums to the Education Ministry, urging officials to spread the word regarding fire safety to students nationwide, particularly during these exceptionally hot/dry days.

Magen David Adom and other EMS agencies urge people to carry ample amounts of water with them and to continue drinking during the day, even if one is not thirsty.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)