At the end of a day of fighting flames, from the air and the ground, the National Fire and Rescue Authority announced tonight (Saturday) that control has been achieved in the prominent fire hotspots that have ignited over the past day, and that no danger is posed.
At this time, forces on the ground are still manually extinguishing the fires, fearing their resurgence due to strong winds.
During the day, more than 100 families were evacuated from their homes that were near the fire centers in the localities of Yarka, Goethe and Zeitan.
An initial inspection by fire investigators in the various arenas reveals that some of them - in Goethe in the Galilee and Zeitan in the Shefela - were caused by arson.
As for the fire in the olive grove, the possibility of negligence on the part of travelers was ruled out and from the initial point of view of the fire center it appears to be arson.
According to the Operations Division, from midnight yesterday until four in the afternoon today, the firefighters dealt with 411 fires, most of them ignited between 12:00 and 08:00 and about half of them took place in open areas.
In the northern districts, 63 fires were extinguished and in the coastal district, 45 fire incidents were extinguished in open areas.
The Air Fire Squadron operated at high intensity and fully with first light, when during the day they identified the fire planes and took care of several centers, including Har Adar, Neve Ilan, Yanuach, Nahal Hakini, near Gita, Yarka and Jat, and in the Rehovot cemetery area.
In Goita in the Galilee, nine planes operated to stop the fire, and threw extinguishing materials from the air on the first line of houses for fear of the fire spreading in the settlement.
In total, about 34,500 liters of extinguishing materials were dropped from the air and 100 sorties were carried out at the national level.
According to the directive of the Fire and Rescue Commissioner, Dedi Simchi, the increased operational readiness in the entire array and sectors will continue tomorrow in light of the weather forecasts.
Simchi, who toured the various arenas, called on the public to abide by the order banning firefighting in open areas, saying that "early deployment of operational forces, and determination of commanders and fighters, prevented greater damage to life and property. The special deployment of forces will continue tomorrow."
