Description of the Course of the Fire and the Extent of the Damage
The fires in Eshtaol Forest and Canada Park were complex events that spread rapidly. The Yom HaShoah Fire began near Moshav Tarum and progressed rapidly as a result of winds and low humidity in a north by northeast direction.
The fire crossed Route 38 at the Mesilat Zion Intersection and even jumped north at some stage beyond Route 1 in the area of the Sha'ar HaGai Intersection. The Yom HaZikaron Fire began, apparently, from the renewal of the previous fire in the area of the Moshav Mesilat Zion Cemetery. The fire in this case also progressed rapidly as a result of winds and very low humidity in a north by northeast direction, until it crossed Route 1 to Canada Park and destroyed it almost entirely.
After comparing the intensity of the fires against various vegetation configurations, there is a clear connection between the large blocks that were burned and the presence of pine trees. On the other hand, in orchards, Groves and low-density forest, and areas of the camping parks in which the sub-forest was well-tended – The fire was contained or caused less damage. The precise scope of the damages to each of the areas is in the advanced stages of evaluation.
Illustration 1. Map of the boundaries of the fires in Eshtaol Forest April 23-24, 2025, and Canada Park April 30-May 1, 2025
The Actions Taken During the Event and on the Days that Followed
During the fires, there was an intensive and widespread effort to put them out. Firefighting and rescue forces cooperated closely with teams of KKL-JNF, which were brought in from throughout Israel, the airborne firefighting unit, the Israeli Air Force (Hercules airplanes). In addition, essential assistance was received from neighboring countries, including Greece and Italy, which had sent firefighting airplanes to assist in the efforts.
Once the fires were put out, KKL-JNF began collecting relevant information for the purpose of rapid processing and analysis of the events. Among the actions taken in the days following the fire: collecting human information, meteorological data, an initial analysis of the intensity and severity of the fire which included use of the dNBR (Normalized Burn Ratio) index via satellite data, verification of the data during patrols in the field, taking aerial photographs, and collecting data specified regarding the connection between the intensity of the fire and its impact of the vegetation.
Illustration 2. dNBR map of the Memorial Day Fire (Eshtaol Forest and Canada Park) April 30-May 1, 2025
The intermediate summary document was generated shortly after the events, for the purpose of improving future fire prevention and firefighting, to understand the degree of damage to the ecosystem as the basis for the forest restoration programs, and to assimilate this information as part of the forest book and the history of events that are important to understand long term processes.
Principles for Restoration of the Forest and Vegetation in the Burnt Areas
Restoration of the forest following the fire is a long-term process based upon the forest management doctrine of KKL-JNF. The vegetation renewal program shall include a determination of the designations of the forest areas and the desirable vegetation configurations (including coverage levels and species composition), monitoring and mapping the areas that require restoration and determining the scope of renewal – whether through natural renewal, planting or a combination of the two.
A special emphasis shall be placed upon the vegetation renewal interface, including the thinning out of pine seedlings, handling broad-leaved trees and handling invasive vegetation and other undesirable vegetation. These interface actions are the main tool for achieving the desired vegetation configuration.
In addition, priorities for execution shall be set, a timetable shall be planned, and overall costs shall be calculated. For the purposes of the restoration process, a steering team and limited professional work teams on various issues (planning, restoration of vegetation, protection from fire, monitoring) were established.
Illustration 3. Order of the action stages in the forest restoration process following the fires. From the Policy and Guidelines for the Fire Prevention and Restoration Following a Fire Document, March 2025
Referencing KKL-JNF Policy for Prevention of Fires, Monitoring and Readiness
KKL-JNF is implementing a strict policy for the prevention of fires, which includes diverse forest interfaces for the purpose of reducing the fuel loads, delay the spread of the fire, reduce the intensity of the fire and improve firefighting capability. These actions include:
• Thinning Out and Hedging: Reducing the amount of flammable material in the forest
• Pasture: Reducing the "flammable material" enforced areas by using cattle and sheep.
• Establishing and Maintaining Buffer Zones: establishing buffer zones around localities and within the forest itself, which constitutes a safe way on which safe and efficient firefighting operations can be carried out and aspiring to reduce the scope of the burnt area.
• Areas for Reducing the Threat of Fire: Activities focused upon high-risk areas and in locations that "threaten" values, properties and/or human life.
• Areas for Reducing the Risk of Massive Fires: Planning and carrying out widespread interfaces to prevent fires from developing into massive fires.
KKL-JNF is also working to constantly monitor the status of the forest and the risks of fire and is improving the readiness of the firefighting teams through drills, training and use of advanced technology to detect forest fires.
The handling of the fires in April 2025 emphasizes the importance of planning and execution of interface operations for the prevention of fires as well as requiring an upgrade to the firefighting system of KKL-JNF and the fire detection capabilities in the open areas.
Environmental and Ecological Considerations that Accompany the Work in the Field
The restoration activities of KKL-JNF are accompanied by strict environmental and ecological considerations. The goal is to enable, as much as possible, a natural renewal of the ecosystem, with intelligent intervention in cases in which human assistance is required.
KKL-JNF is working to ensure the restoration of biodiversity, the promotion of ecological stability, maintaining the ecosystem services and reducing the future environmental risks. Within this framework, we conduct regular surveys on various issues such as invasive species, unique habitats, nature and heritage values, and more. Learning the lessons from the fires, including the understanding regarding the resiliency of orchards and treated areas, shall serve as a basis for implementing more advanced forest interfaces, which will combine the total ecological and environmental considerations in the KKL-JNF policy while taking into consideration climate change and the long-term impacts.