Some updates from "Jameel at the muqata"
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.
10:55 PM JNF reports over 10,000 dunams of forest have been destroyed by the fire.
10:51 PM 36 of the victims' bodies have so far been positively identified.
10:50 PM Teacher-Soldiers drafted to aid in evacuations.
10:46 PM Fire-fighting aid from Foreign counties:
5 firefighting planes from Greece
2 firefighting planes from Azerbaijan
1 firefighting helicopter from Cyprus
4 firefighting planes and necessary fire-retardant chemicals from France
2 firefighting planes and 3 firefighting helicopter from Croatia
2 firefighting helicopters from Turkey
(Channel 2 News)
10:42 PM Emergency Phone Numbers:
Rambam Hospital: 12-55-144
Carmel Hospital: 12-55-142
Bnei Zion Hospita: 12-55-145
Social-Security Welfare 24 hotline: 118
Emergency Hotline for Families of Prison Services Workers: 08-977-5701
Shomron Regional Council Emergency Volunteer Hotline
to provide housing assistance for displaced families: 1-700-700-106
10:40 PM Italy not able to send fire-fighting planes due to stormy weather.