A brush fire is raging out of control at this hour in the rolling hills near Beit Shemesh west of Jerusalem. The blaze is slowly encroaching on Kibbutz Harel and Moshav Tsalafon. There are no casualties in the blaze. Firefighters earlier this afternoon evacuated some 30 families from the moshav as the wall of fire approached, Israel Radio said.
Reports are unclear if structures or livestock on communities in the vicinity have been damaged.
Fire crews from throughout the region, helicopters and spotter planes are taking part in the battle, the report said. Road 44, west the Shimshon junction through the Eshtaol forest, is closed due to smoke and flames. First reports also say a fire has started in fields belonging to nearby Moshav Mata. The source of the fires has not yet been determined, although firefighters cited the sharav heat wave as a possible cause of the blaze. Arson has not been ruled out.