The beautiful growing green became black: About 800 dunams out of approximately 20,000 dunams in Biriya Forest caught fire following Hezbollah’s fire towards the region, which had also been badly damaged during the Second Lebanon War and underwent rehabilitation. Today (Wednesday), KKL-JNF workers and foresters launched a drone to document the heavy damage. Watch the video that shows the significant damage caused by the fire:

Eli Hafuta, KKL-JNF Upper Galilee and Golan Region Director, said: “There is great sadness for everything that we have nurtured and cared for since the Second Lebanon War. Almost everything was lost in two hours of fire. We are talking about a daily investment over a period of 18 years in the area”

He spoke about the damaged forest: “Most of the year, the foresters see a green and blooming forest. In the summer, there are sometimes fires, and parts of the forest catch fire. Then you start all over again. This is an unusual event. Usually, we can get fires that break out in Birya Forest under control very quickly. In this case, an interceptor exploded over the forest, breaking into many fragments that ignited numerous localities. It developed into a very significant fire, due to extreme and uncharacteristic wind conditions. When there are heatwaves, low humidity, and strong winds – these are the results.”

During the Second Lebanon War, Hafuta was part of KKL-JNF’s engineering equipment unit and volunteered to extinguish fires in the western Galilee. “In the last five years, we have experienced major fires in the Naftali Mountains due to military activity. The recent shelling and interceptions are the sole causes of the fires,” he said. “Every fall and every interception causes a fire. In winter, we were fortunate that everything was green and wet. Since May 15, when everything dried up, there is a 100% certainty that every fall in the forest will cause a fire.”

He added that every forester has a water tank with a pump and hose in their pickup truck to provide an initial response. “If the fire is put out in the first minutes, it’s resolved,” he said. KKL-JNF is now also using engineering tools to deal with forest fires. “For 15 years, we have been busy creating buffer zones, and now we have them around the communities and army bases,” said Hafuta. “There are buffer zones around the communities, and they have saved many of them from fires.” Since the beginning of the war, approximately 10,000 dunams of forest managed by KKL-JNF have gone up in flames. 

Since they cannot access all the forest areas, professionals estimate that the number is higher, probably over 14,000 dunams, These areas include Rosh Hanikra, Hanita, the Naftali Mountains range, Nabi Yosha Forest, Biriya Forest, Amiad Forest, and Katzrin Forest.