A large wildfire broke out near the city of Elad and the Nahshonim industrial zone in central Israel on Tuesday, as a historic heatwave continued to afflict the country.
Some 11 crews from the Israel Fire and Rescue Services in Petah Tikva along with 10 crews from the Nature and Parks Authority and a firefighting plane worked to battle the flames that were being fanned by strong winds. As of Tuesday morning, the fire was still going strong.
The Fire and Rescue Services believe that the fire began at about 10 p.m. on Monday near the Palestinian Authority and progressed towards the area currently affected by the fire, along with another site near Elad. The fire may have been caused by arson.
Overnight, firefighters fought a wildfire in the Ramot neighborhood of Beersheba. Fire and Rescue Services gained control over the fire early in the morning on Tuesday.
The fires came amid a historic heatwave that is expected to keep temperatures throughout Israel near and above 100F (38C) until the weekend. The heatwave is expected to be the longest and most extreme heatwave ever recorded in Israel.
The forecast temperatures throughout the country for Tuesday are:
>Jerusalem: High: 100F (38C) Low: 84F (29C)
>Tel Aviv: High: 104F (40C) Low: 82F (28C)
>Haifa: High: 95F (35C) Low: 81F (27C)
>Tiberias: High: 109F (43C) Low: 77F (25C)
>Beersheba: High: 106F (41C) Low: 79F (26C)
>Eilat: High: 100F (38C) Low: 81F (27C)
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