Source: MSNBC
Source: MSNBC
Source: ABC1:18 AM Denya Neighborhood in Haifa under evacuation. All the blue points are streets being evacuated now.
View Areas Affected by Carmel Fire in a larger map
Another photo of the fire -- taken from Yitzhar, over 100 km away from the fire. (source)
1:09 AM Sorry for the delay; had a MDA first response call to a car accident on the road.
Israel Radio reports that the Denya neighborhood of Haifa is now being evacuated.
12:13 AM This is the way the fire looks, from just down the road from me -- from the community of Yitzhar (central Shomron)
Photo by Ishy Hazani. More here.12:07 AM Do you live in Israel and want to help? National Hotline to help families displaced by the fire: 02-652-2222
12:03 AM Egypt offers firefighting support. 200 IDF HomeFront command reserve firefighters drafted under emergency draft rule 8. Haifa Police Chief Ahuva Tomer in critical condition -- hurt during the fire earlier today.
11:45 PM Channel 2 reports that the fire simultaneously started this morning in 3 separate locations.
Strong winds are now driving the fire in the direction of Haifa.
Gilboa Region community of "Ein Harod" setting up tent city to house some of the families evacuated by the fire.
If you live in the Shomron area, you can volunteer to host families by calling the
Shomron Regional Council Emergency Volunteer Hotline
to provide housing assistance for displaced families: 1-700-700-106
11:34 PM This is the emergency broadcast I received on my EMT first responder radio when the first report arrived of the bus catching on fire tragedy today.
11:32 PM MK Ayoub Kara demands the death penalty for the terrorist-arsonists who started the fire.
11:31 PM Emergency Prayer and Tehillim services at the Kotel now, lead by Israeli Chief Rabbis and Rav Ovadya Yosef.
11:29 PM Israel Chemical Company announces it will offer 100% of its fire-fighting chemical stock located in Israel and France to help fight the fire, at no cost.
11:26 PM IDF sending combat cadets from the Paratrooper, Golani and Kvir Brigades to help with the evacuattion.
11:21 PM Updates: Over 12,000 people evacuated from their homes. Prison Services deny that 4 prisoners escaped. Foregin Minister Avigdor Leiberman announces that 12 countries are now sending firefighting planes and equipment...and that the Pentagon is checking if they have available equipment to send from the area.
11:18 PM MK Ayoub Kara (Likud) announces on Channel 10 TV that the fire was "an attack" and deliberately set. Developing story....
11:14 PM Channel 10 reports that four inmates escaped during the evacuation and are currently at large.
11:05 PM NASA Satellite photo from space.
Massive fire in Israel can be seen from space - NASA satellite photo
Thursday, December 2, 2010 - 21:37
A massive forest fire broke out near Haifa in Israel today and NASA took a image of it with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Agua satellite. The photo was taken at 12:10pm local time.
You can see a red line on the outside of the fire drawn by NASA. Strong winds fueled the fire.
40 People died thus far of the fire and the fire is now totally out of control (time of writing). The worst hit part is Carmel Mountain region, the IDF allocated all its resources to fight the fire.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Holli Riebeek.
Bee Sting
