Fire, Fire, Fire

Hey all,

As some of you might now there has been a huge fire raging in the hills southeast of Haifa for the past day and a half. How it started is not all clear but there are some different theories anything from a gang that lit tires to a fire in an illegal dumpingsite that went wrong. Anyhow yesterday morning it started and spread very fast because of the strong winds here and since its been the driest november and summer for many years the forrest lit up like candles. The kibbutz Bet Oren is completely destroyed however it was evacuated in time and no personal injuries has been reported. That was not the luck however for a buss full of prison-personal that were on their way to assist in the evac of the prison in the area. Their buss was caught on the road in a flash fire an the 40 ppl inside didnt stand a chance. The same faith hit the police chief in Haifa when she was on her way to help somewhere and she has burn to roughly 80% of her body. Thats the general news that has been circling all day.

When it comes to us we live very close to the fire and have seen it grow and die for the past day. Its a really tricky thing because of the nature of fire combined with the wind. When Adi came home yesterday we choose to evac ourselves to a friend i northern Haifa close to the beach and there we've spent the day watching the TV for news. Now in the evening we have returned to the house and the fire comes and goes. I will now post a few pictures in chronological order of how it has looked from our neighborhood the past days.

Yesterday day and afternoon (pic 1 and 2)

Yesterday night, from a house on the same road as us

Yesterday night, from a house on the same road as us

Yesterday night, from a house on the same road as us

Yesterday night, from a house on the same road as us

Today in the morning from a house close to our house

The planes fighting the fire with sea-water and powder

The planes are from many different countries as Netanyahu has asked for help from abroad.

Another plane

A picture from today afternoon.

So here you can see what we see from the living room and right now it seems that the fires have died a little and the wind might be turning but with mother nature you'll never know. If it comes closer we will leave again. I have more pictures on my cellphone but my bluetooth on the laptop has decided to evac and right now wont work.

Have fun,

Carl