Israeli authorities have said that the huge forest fire that started in the Carmel hills near Haifa on Thursday is still not under control.
That may take one to two more days, they say.
Fully extinguishing the fire will take longer.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu announced on Saturday evening that Netanyahu today (Saturday), 4.12.10, had “ordered the rental of the largest firefighting plane in the world – a jumbo Boeing 747. The plane, an Evergreen ‘Supertanker’ is the only plane in the world with the ability to extinguish fires at night. Prime Minister Netanyahu instructed that the necessary budget for renting the plane be transferred immediately so that the plane may land in Israel tonight”.
One? Just one?
In this continuing tragedy, the Israeli PM has ordered only one of these largest firefighting planes in the world which is also the only kind of plane able to fight fires at night?
Netanyahu also said that he intended “to acquire for the State of Israel an aerial force, which we need in the era of global warming, in the era of brushfires. We need, of course, this different ability which will completely alter our ability to deal with massive brushfires”.
Apparently the Boeing Evergreen Supertanker has just come on the market, Netanyahu said in Haifa tonight, and Israel will be undertaking pioneering work to develop a “modus operandi” for it.
In a press conference at Haifa University on Saturday evening [n.b. – Haifa University was evacuated on Thursday and was threatened by the flames again on Friday] Netanyahu explained further that “This plane [the Boeing Evergreen Supertanker] was brought to our attention by Israel Aerospace Industries Chairman Yair Shamir. He contacted my Military Secretary, Maj.-Gen. Yohanan Loaker, and told him that heard about it. Maj.-Gen. Loaker immediately checked the Internet and within 15 minutes, contacted the company. He asked me, ‘Can we approve renting this Arizona-based company?’ I approved it on the spot. He asked me, ‘Where will the budgeting come from?’ I replied, ‘We will find it.’ There was a contract within an hour. This plane is en route. They have a commitment to arrive within 36 hours. They will come here anywhere in the world. They will arrive here tonight. At 01:00, this plane will be here. Its capacity is 76-80,000 liters, almost double that of the Ilyushin [n.b. – sent Friday by Russia; Netanyahu explained that the Ilyushin can carry approximately 40,000 liters]. It may have the exclusive ability to operate at night. Because what is happening here, and I just saw it on the flight here, is that during the day, the pilots and firefighters do exceptional work but night falls and the wind-fanned embers return to life, so the ability to operate at night is very significant”.
It was perhaps also significant that Interior Minister Eli Yishai, of the Shas religious party, was not among the government officials with Netanyahu at the Haifa press conference. There have been calls from various parts of Israel’s political spectrum and in the media for the Minister to resign, or be fired, for Israel’s totally inadequate response to this huge fire which has had such tragic consequences.
In his Haifa press conference, Netanyahu explained that he had discussed fire fighting techniques and shared experiences in phone conversations with U.S. President Obama, as well as with the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, and with the Canadian and Austrialian Prime Ministers as well. He said he also spoke to the Russian Deputy Civil Defense, Emergency and Disaster Relief Minister, who is now in Israel to help with the fire-fighting effort.
Israel’s YNet website reported tonight that “Four firefighting teams operating in the Hai-Bar area ran out of water on Saturday evening and were forced to pull back before getting reinforcement. ‘The fire is 15-20 meters (50-65 feet) high – a wall of flames’, their commander reported. ‘We are fighting fire from three directions’, he said. An Israel Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle was reporting of the flame’s progress to an Israel Defense Forces officer stationed in the area with the firefighters, who continued to request more and more water … Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch, on the other hand, said during a press briefing at the command post at Haifa University that he remains ‘not optimistic’. ‘My working assumption is that it will take a few more days. The fleet of planes which will join us tomorrow will provide real aid. You must remember that we hardly engage in fire extinguishing at night’.” This story is reported here.
It was reported elsewhere that Netanyahu called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday to thank him for Palestinian help in fighting the massive fire. Al Arabiya TV wrote on its website here that ” ‘Three units of the Palestinian civil defense were sent to assist in extinguishing the fires in the Carmel'” said a statement from the office of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas”.
Netanyahu said in the Haifa press conference, however, that PA President “Abu Mazen” had “volunteered to send three firefighters”. Perhaps it was just a slip of the tongue? In any case, Netanyhu said that “these things are very important”, and that he had expressed appreciation to President Abu Mazen “both for this step and for his solidarity in conveying his condolences, as others have also done, and I told him that we re in the same neighborhood. The fire is once here and once there. We are, in effect, creating a regional network, after we purchase the planes, the planes will join a regional network that I believe we can establish here for the benefit of all of our peoples”.
UPDATE: It was announced on Sunday that three Palestinian “vehicles” will enter Israel today via Jenin to help in fighting the Carmel fire. This is definitely a breakthrough.
Netanyahu also said that there was no shame in Israel’s reaching out for help at this time, considering the scale of the emergency:
“I would like to explain that we have a unique event here. It does have parallels around the world, in the giant brushfires that have occurred in Russia, the US, Greece and in several other countries. These are massive brushfires that cannot be compared to acts of arson or other fires. In a massive brushfire, first of all, there is a need to employ unique forces. This is not a routine event and it requires aerial activity. Ground forces are insufficient and most cannot stop even the start. Even the start, that oft-discussed cup of water, to put out the fire, in the event of a massive brushfire, it is almost always brought by plane or helicopter. This is to say that there is a need for aerial firefighting in order to deal with such fires. There is also a need to do this in cooperation because there is no country that I know of, and I spoke with both US President Barack Obama and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and with our friend, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, who came to our aid immediately. All of these countries, and others, which have experienced these fires, were helped by other countries. This is no shame in this; it is part of our existence in the global village. We live in a global village; we both receive and extend assistance. Israel has extended assistance over the years in rescuing victims in other countries and Israel is now receiving assistance, very extensive assistance”.
He noted that “one thing is becoming clear: The Israeli people are standing together and many other peoples are standing together with us. This is not a small thing. This must certainly be a point of light during Chanukah … In the framework of the countries that are aiding us, there have been very interesting things. First, the fact that during Chanukah, Turkish pilots speaking Turkish, and pilots speaking Greek are flying together with Israeli pilots and this is important. This will certainly have positive repercussions from Israel’s point-of-view”.
Netanyahu announced that the regular Sunday session of his cabinet would convene in Tirat HaCarmel [and not, as usual, in Jerusalem] — even though the Carmel fire is not yet under control — “not just as an act of solidarity but also in order to make it clear that we will rehabilitate not only the people who have been injured but the homes and the forests that have been damaged as well”.