Two Suspected Arsonists Arrested Near Carmel

In addition to The Muqata, who is liveblogging the fire, Israel Matzav and Elder of Ziyon are blogging about an article in the Jerusalem Post about 2 suspected arsonists being arrested by Israeli police in the Carmel area:

Two suspects were apprehended by police after being seen hurling Molotov cocktails in a forest on a Carmel mountain hilltop. There was a pursuit and the suspects were apprehended. Police suspect that the two may have also been behind the blazes at Tzur Shalom (near Kiryat Bialik north of Haifa) and Tivon.


Head of Hof police sub-district Asst.-Cmdr. Roni Attia said that arson is suspected in a number of separate fires, including Kiryat Bialik and Kiryat Tivon.

Earlier on Friday, police found a bike, a bag, and a wig inside near a fire center in Tzur Shalom, leading them to believe that the fire was caused by an arsonist or arsonists.

Police Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the Post that there are 3 fire centers - Tzur Shalom, the Atlit - Tirat Hacarmel area, and the Carmel hillsides. In one, Tzur Shalom, north of Haifa, "we located suspicious items pointing to arson. As for the other two major fires, it is too early and the incidents are to large in scale to know their causes at this stage." The death toll in the fires rose to 42 on Friday, according to Army Radio.

Meanwhile, though parts of the fire are under control--others are not and the blaze is still spreading:

A firefighter spokesman told The Jerusalem Post on Friday that Haifa is no longer in danger from the brush fires.

The fire is now focused on the Carmel hillsides and the Atlit region of Route 4, the spokesman stated.

"We won't put this out by today but we are aiming to significantly weaken the fire by sunset," he added.

The spokeman's statement came as northern Israel was in a state of emergency as the worst ever fire in the country's history incinerated a bus carrying dozens of members of the Israel Prisons Service, killing everyone on board, destroying thousands upon thousands of dunams of forests on the Carmel Mountain ridge and injuring dozens.

By early Friday afternoon, fire had spread to new areas in the Carmel despite the efforts of firefighters who were aided by the first foreign firefighting aircraft which arrived to help control the blaze.

Firefighters were battling flames on several fronts, including Na'aman Junction, Chai Bar, the entrance to the village of Usfiya, and the area between Usfiya and Dalia.

Fire spread to the area west of Usfiya, though flames were low, Haifa firefighters said. Flames were centering 300 meters from the Ya'arot hotel in the Carmel.

At Nir Etzion the blaze was out of control, approaching homes and endangering citizens who returned to their homes and ignored police instructions. Police were forced to evacuate citizens using force.

We hope the fire can be controlled and put out before there are any further casualties.

Technorati Tag: Carmel Fire.