About 2,050 acres of planted forests went up in flames during the fires that raged in November 2016. More than 300 KKL-JNF foresters and firefighters fought the fires for over a week at 64 conflagrations throughout Israel. KKL-JNF teams also took part in putting out fires in an additional 3,800 acres of areas not under the organization's management.
“This was a war to save the forests, the houses around them, and the lives of the local residents,” said Gilad Mastai, KKL-JNF Coast and Plain Regional Director. It was impossible not to hear the emotion in his voice when he was asked to recall the events of the November 2016 fires: “The wind was blowing very strongly that night. Winds like that cause sleepless nights for foresters. Around midnight I received a phone call – get up, your forest is on fire. I immediately activated the entire KKL-JNF network. Together with the fire department, we waged a war against the forces of nature, against the tremendous power of the fires. We were in the field the entire week, 24 hours a day.”
This fire, which raged in Eshtaol Forest, was the first event in what was to become a wave of dozens of fires throughout Israel. The dry weather, the strong winds and the many acts of arson led to a huge catastrophe all over the country.
“After the fire was put out and the winds calmed down, we stood on the mountaintops with tears in our eyes and broken hearts, surveying all the damage. It was difficult for me to look at the dead trees,” Mastai recalled.
The fires in Eshtaol Forest damaged a forest that is a major part of the life of Itamar Dror, KKL-JNF Eshtaol-Ayalon Bloc forester. Besides that, it also threatened his house in Moshav Tarom, which is only a few hundred meters from where the fire raged.
“When they told me at night that a fire broke out, I ran to my living room window,” Dror recalled. “I saw the flames, and I immediately realized that this was a major fire. We fought the fire around the clock for almost a week. In all my 26 years as a forester, I never experienced a fire like this, which kept reigniting.”
Thanks to the efforts of the KKL-JNF teams, who worked together with the firefighters, most of the forest was saved, but extensive areas were badly damaged. “It’s sad to see an old forest burnt up and black. It’s heartbreaking, there are no other words to describe it,” Dror said.
Unfortunately, KKL-JNF foresters are already used to dealing with fires. They are active in preventing fires by creating firebreaks, which prevent the spreading of the flames, and paving road breaks that allow recue forces to arrive at the scene. They also thin out the trees in order to prevent the spread of the flames, and encourage grazing in forests and open spaces in order to lessen the amount of flammable vegetation.
In spite of all the efforts, many forests are damaged yearly by fires, due to weather conditions, the negligence of visitors, and arson. In these instances, the foresters and the skilled and well-equipped firefighting teams that KKL-JNF sets in action join the fight against the conflagrations alongside the fire department.
When a fire endangers human life and property, there are not always people available to deal with the forests. This is KKL-JNF’s job. There is no substitute for their familiarity with the terrain, which makes it possible for them to direct the forces to the right places.
Of course, KKL-JNF’s job is not over when the fire is extinguished, and now, its mission is to lead the forests' rehabilitation. Towards this end, professional surveys are being conducted by foresters and ecologists, in order to ascertain damage and determine methods of action.
“Right after a fire, we immediately start thinking about the day after,” Mastai notes. “Wherever possible, we encourage the forest’s natural renewal processes by thinning and intensive care. This is a long and expensive process. Areas that don’t have natural seeding processes are replanted with seedlings from KKL-JNF nurseries. Recreation sites are renovated and mature trees are planted in them, in order to get the situation back to normal as quickly as possible. Additional work that is often necessary is repairing roads that were damaged and creating runoff traps to prevent erosion. All this is done so that the forest can go back to welcoming visitors.”
For example, in Haruvit Forest, thinning work is currently taking place in wake of the huge fire that broke out here about five years ago. The forest was restored naturally, and the conifers overtook the area. In order to ensure that the forest will be healthy and diverse, KKL-JNF workers fell trees, prune and clean it.
“The goal is to thin the conifers to help the Mediterranean flora become established,” explain Massua bloc forester Yossi Sherwani, who is in charge of the work at Haruvit Forest. “Our goal is to give expression to a variety of Israeli flora, like carobs, oaks, terebinths and jujube trees. As painful as it is, there is still life after fires and hope for a new and fresh world. In twenty years from now, there will be a glorious forest here.”