Israel Fire and Rescue Services Commissioner Dedi Simchi has informed Public Security Minister Omer Bar-lev that there is no reason to call in the cavalry to help contain the massive wildfires that erupted around Jerusalem on Sunday, and that Israel can cancel requests for assistance from Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and France.
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During a tour of the fire areas, Simchi and Bar-lev met with firefighters and expressed appreciation for their devoted word.
Chief of the Jerusalem District Fire and Rescue Services Nissim Twito said, "in the next few hours, with comfortable weather and high humidity, we will make a concentrated effort to put out the localized fires still burning in Shoeva, Beit Meir, Ramat Raziel, Eitanim, and Givat Yaarim."
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While Israel is cautiously optimistic it can forgo international aid, the Israeli Air Force has been called up, with Super-Hercules aircraft scrambled into service to dump flame retardant on the active fires.
This is a trial, as the aircraft were not intended to be used for fighting fires, but the IAF has agreed to send them in.
The fire has burned some 5,000 acres of forested land on the outskirts of Jerusalem since it erupted Sunday afternoon has died down somewhat.
"The fire subsided overnight, but there are still lots of localized fires close to communities," an Israel Police official announced, adding that residents of the evacuated Givat Yaarim and Kibbutz Tzova were still under orders to stay away. The fires have damaged the electricity grid close to both communities.
"There are several locations where low-level fires are still burning. All in all, the situation is contained, I hope I will be the bearer of good news today," Simhi said in an interview to Kan Bet Radio.
As of Tuesday morning, Highway 395 was still closed in both directions. Residents of Ramat Raziel and Kislon were allowed to use the road to get home if they showed proof of address. Highway 386 was shut down out of concern that the fire could spread to the road. Highway 3955 between Shoeva Square and Beir Meir was open.
On Monday evening, after the fires forced thousands of residents of communities west of Jerusalem to evacuate their homes, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ordered Bar-Lev and the National Security Council to reach out for international help getting the fire under control.
Bennett also instructed the Defense Ministry and the IDF to do all they could to help the firefighting, evacuation, and rescue efforts. He also said that the possibility of calling in the Israeli Air Force to supply additional air support should be examined.
"We cannot hesitate when it comes to evacuating communities and people, we need to take an aggressive approach and get everyone out," Bennett said, stressing that the number one priority was saving lives.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, on Monday and asked Dendias to prepare to send firefighting aircraft to Israel. The Greek foreign minister promised that Athens would do all it could to help. Lapid's office also reached out to Cyprus, France, and Italy to ask for aid fighting the fire.
Later Monday, the Fire and Rescue Services announced that residents of Kibbutz Tzuba, Ein Naquba, and Ein Rafah could return home, but residents of Givat Yaarim were still under orders to stay away.
Discussing the fire, which erupted Sunday, Bar-lev and Simchi said they hoped that to "finish the event" by Tuesday. Simchi compared the Jerusalem fire to the Carmel forest fires of 2010 in scope. By Monday evening, nearly 20,000 dunams (nearly 5,000 acres) had gone up in flames.
Simchi confirmed that the fire had been caused by people, although whether it was a case of negligence or arson was still unclear.
"We will continue to investigate and the moment there are results, we will hand them over to the appropriate people. There are 88 firefighting teams that can keep working tomorrow [Tuesday], as well," Simchi said, adding that the personnel had already been in action for 30 hours straight.
"Until the fire is completely out, there is concern that small ones could reignite," the commissioner explained.
Earlier Monday, it had appeared that Hadassah Ein Karem Medical Center might have to be evacuated. Luckily, Simchi said, firefighting aircraft had prevented the fire from reaching the medical complex.
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