Jerusalem region firefighters decided overnight to evacuate residents from a row of houses on the outskirts of the Jewish community of Neve Shalom as a late-night brush fire continued to burn into the wee hours of Tuesday.
The Latrun forest was also ablaze late Monday night as well, keeping firefighters busy on more than one front.
Firefighters and Jerusalem District Police decided together with the local forces commander in Beit Shemesh that it was safer to evacuate the residents in the first row of houses in Neve Shalom, given the proximity of the flames.
According to regional fire and rescue spokesman Udi Gal, the firefighters were attempting to contain the blaze at the outskirts of the community and to keep the fire contained within the open ground.
It’s not yet clear what sparked either blaze.