Days after a major heat wave caused massive fires in small communities near Jerusalem, drone footage emerges of the extensive damage inflicted on the homes of Mevo Modi'im
Video: Eric Danino
The blaze in the small community resulted in many families losing their homes and all of their possessions, although luckily no fatalities were reported.
"Our community is inside a forested area, so we were prepared for this in our subconscious, but we never believed that it would actually happen," Nethaniel Richman, whose family saw their home go in flames, told Israel Hayom. "My wife managed to take a few pieces of jewelry and some equipment, grabbed the kids and the dog and fled. Had we not been aware of this we would have seen casualties."
According to an initial investigation, multiple fire sources were identified, raising the likelihood that the fire was deliberate. Authorities are looking for more clues that would help confirm this.
Yisrael Solomon, a police officer who lives in the community, wore two hats on Thursday. The 31-year-old had to order residents out of the community while protecting his own wife and family.
"I got a phone call from a resident telling me she was seeing a lot of smoke. I realized something unusual was happening, so I informed the authorities and together with other officers just evacuated the residents, moving from one home to the next," he recalled. "I took the weapons we had in the communal storage and took Torah scrolls from the synagogue. Within ten minutes we were gone."
Solomon said his house was turned to rubble, as was that of his parents.
