Four injured as fires hit South, North and Jerusalem region.
By JPOST.COM STAFFforest fire 311(photo credit: Channel 10)
Fires broke out throughout Israel Friday as the latest heat wave continued unabated.Outdoor blazes feeding on dry trees and undergrowth occurred near the communities of Ora and Aminadav in the Jerusalem region, in the forests near Yirka and Sakhnin and at the Banias nature preserve in the North. Firefighting crews and airplanes were called into service to put out the flames. RELATED:Summer vacation has been deadly for 20 children so farWildfires kill 50 in RussiaOver thirty dunams of land were burnt in the Jerusalem area. No reports regarding the property damage were received in connection with the other fires. No injuries were reported to have occurred as result of any of the outdoors fires.As for urban areas, four people, including a baby, were lightly injured from smoke inhalation on Friday afternoon when a fire broke out in their apartment building in Beersheba. A Magen David Adom crew brought the injured to Soroka Hospital for treatment. Four people were still trapped in the building at the time of this report as firefighting crews worked tirelessly to free them.Electricity usage reached an all-time high Sunday with no sign of a letup in the heat wave plaguing the region.The Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) has pulled out all the stops in its power-production capability and has activated all private producers as well. And yet, it still cannot guarantee that blackouts won’t leave motorists without traffic lights or trap people in elevators, or that it won’t bring the economy to a standstillEven an hour’s blackout could cost the economy many millions of shekels, National Infrastructures Minister Uzi Landau (Israel Beiteinu) warned.
