The Mount Carmel Forest Fire was a

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

that occurred between 19 and 22 September 1989 on

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/Elijah), is a c ...

in northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and was one of the largest forest fires in Israel, the largest being the Mount Carmel forest fire of 2010. The fire extended over , of which were natural forest areas of

Aleppo pine ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Pinus halepensis'' is a small to medium-sized tree, tall, with a trunk diameter up to , exce ...

which were part of the Carmel National Park and Nature Reserve, causing considerable damage to the flora and wildlife.

Causes

The weather conditions at the start of the fire were a 31 degrees Celsius (87.8 degrees Fahrenheit), 28% humidity and eastern winds of 42–50 kmh (30–35 mph). The weather conditions and mountainous topography of the area increased both the speed at which the fire spread and its intensity, making it difficult to extinguish.

Extinguishing the fire

Area that was burned in Mount Carmel forest fire 1989

The fire broke out around 11:00 a.m. on the morning of 19 September 1989 in a number of locations far apart from each other. The eruption of the fire in multiple locations led many to suspect that the fire was a result of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

, although such suspicions were never confirmed. Initially the fire spread west towards the Denia neighbourhood of Haifa and the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

. Later, when the wind direction changed at night time, the fire moved southwest towards the "Little Switzerland" area (so called for its resemblance to the landscapes of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) in the Carmel National Park, Kibbutz

Beit Oren Beit Oren ( he, בֵּית אֹרֶן, ''lit.'' 'Home of the Pine') is a kibbutz in northern Israel on Mount Carmel. It falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In its population was . Geography Beit Oren is in the heart ...

and the Damun prison facility, completely destroying nearby breeding and reacclimation centers. In the evening of September 20 the fire's intensity finally decreased significantly and was gradually extinguished, the fire finally put out on September 22. 142 firefighters of the

Israel Fire and Rescue Services The Israel Fire and Rescue Services (Hebrew: כבאות והצלה לישראל, ''Kaba'ut VeHatzala Le'Israel''; also שירותי כבאות להצלה, ''Sherutei Kaba'ut VeHatzala'') is the national Israeli fire and rescue organization. The ...

took part in the event using 64

fire trucks A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an ...

. They were assisted by 250 IDF soldiers,

agricultural aircraft An agricultural aircraft is an aircraft that has been built or converted for agricultural use – usually aerial application of pesticides (crop dusting) or fertilizer (aerial topdressing); in these roles they are referred to as "crop duster ...

, volunteers of the

Jewish National Fund Jewish National Fund ( he, קֶרֶן קַיֶּימֶת לְיִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Keren Kayemet LeYisrael'', previously , ''Ha Fund HaLeumi'') was founded in 1901 to buy and develop land in Ottoman Syria (later Mandatory Palestine, and subseq ...

and the

Israel Nature and Parks Authority The Israel Nature and Parks Authority ( he, רשות הטבע והגנים ''Rashut Hateva Vehaganim''; ar, سلطة الطبيعة والحدائق) is an Israeli government organization that manages nature reserves and national parks in Israel, ...

, as well as police, Municipality of Haifa and

MDA MDA, mda, or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Moldova, a country in Europe with the ISO 3166-1 country code MDA Politics * Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (2018), ruling coalition government in the Indian State of Meghalaya led by National Pe ...

forces. Most of the extinguishing operations focused on stabilizing the fire and preventing it from spreading further.

Environmental and property damage

Six firefighters and several volunteers were injured in the fire, although the main damage was caused to the

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

. About 3200 dunam (790 acres) were of natural forest areas, which caused considerable damage to the flora and wild life. The fire killed a significant portion of the animals who used to live in the region. A herd of

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

perished completely in the flames as did 18

wild goat The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threatene ...

s. In addition, some reptiles such as turtles failed to escape the fire.

External links

Post-Fire Recovery of an East Mediterranean Aleppo Pine Forest Ecosystem
– published in September 1996 {{coord, 32.758695, N, 35.008707, E, type:landmark_region:NO, display=title 1989 in Israel 1980s wildfires Fires in Israel 1989 fires in Asia 1989 disasters in Israel

Causes

Extinguishing the fire

Environmental and property damage

See also

External links