Sooty catalpa trees and carcasses that were not saved from the inferno: fire damage in the Jerusalem mountains Israel today

The enormous damage caused by the fires in the Jerusalem mountains is beginning to become clear today (Monday) and the dimensions of the disaster show the dire consequences of the events on nature.

The fire consumed large areas in the Jerusalem mountains and caused damage to the nature reserves in the area and also to the Judean Mountains National Park.

Among those who pay the price, there are animals who have lost their lives and others who have managed to escape the inferno, but their living environment will no longer be as it used to be.

Documentation of fire damage in the Har Pilots Reserve // ​​Photo: Liad Cohen Nature and Parks Authority

Mount Pilots Reserve to the north, Ariel Kedem Nature and Parks Authority

Ein Pilots, this morning, Ariel Kedem Nature and Parks Authority

RTG inspectors in the Mount Pilots Reserve, Gilad Weil, Nature and Parks Authority

The roots of catalpa trees are burning in the Mount Pilots Reserve, Gilad Weil Nature and Parks Authority

The inspectors of the Nature and Parks Authority acted in the fire areas and due to its extensive scope, an emergency procedure was declared in the Nature and Parks Authority and a special unit was established. Inspectors of the Nature and Parks Authority Burning as well as preventing the regeneration and spread of fire, with the main meter being to minimize as much as possible the extent of damage to nature reserves and national parks in the area and to animals and plants, some of which are endangered.

The carcass of a Mediterranean chameleon documented in the burned areas, to the Cohen Nature and Parks Authority

Donkeys in the burned area, Lior Cohen Nature and Parks Authority

Mount Pilots Reserve in the direction of Eitanim, Ariel Kedem Nature and Parks Authority

Despite the flames that raged and destroyed everything that stood in their way, a miracle took place in the monument of the Air Force casualties in the Mount Pilots Nature Reserve.

The surrounding area burned almost entirely, but the monument and the Israeli flag survived. 

The fire consumed an area of ​​about 17,000 dunams, almost four times the area that caught fire in the previous large fire in Neve Ilan (4,600 dunams).

At this time, as stated, the activity of the police forces alongside the firefighters and other forces to locate hotspots and prevent the development of fire throughout the area continues.

At the same time, due to the fire and its damage, the following hiking trails were closed until further notice: the red and blue hiking trail from Highway 38, the hiking trails from Nahal Kislon to Eitanim - marked with red and blue and the Israel Trail, and the entire Mount Pilots Reserve.