A wildfire erupted in a forested area near Mevasseret Zion outside Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon, prompting an evacuation of some residents nearest to the fire line.
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Authorities shut down eastbound traffic on Highway 1 from the Hemed interchange. The Latrun interchange was also shut to eastbound traffiice
Report of a brush fire came in shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday. The Mevassaret Zion local authority reported that the fire was spreading toward the Nof Harim neighborhood and that first responders and firefighters were on the scene, trying to contain it. By 3:20 p.m. residents of Nof Harim closest to the fire had been evacuated.
Six firefighting aircraft were scrambled to support the firefighters from the air.
Some parliamentarians-designate were concerned that the road closures would prevent relatives from arriving to see them sworn in on Sunday afternoon.
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Last Wednesday, multiple firefighting squads were called in to battle out-of-control forest fires outside Jerusalem.
One fire broke out on Har Haruach outside the city and spread to nearby communities Neve Ilan, Kibbutz Maaleh Hachamisha, Abu Ghosh, and other locations, aided by the hot and dry June weather, combined with strong winds.
Commanders of the Jerusalem District Fire and Rescue Services issued orders for residents of Kibbutz Maaleh Hachamisa who live in the homes closest to the fire to evacuate.
The KKL-JNF called the fire at Maaleh Hachamisha on Wednesday a "major event," and its own personnel were helping firefighters from the Fire and Rescue Services.
