page_title: Mount Carmel forest fire (2010)
section_title: Extinguishing the fire
hierarchical_section_title: Mount Carmel forest fire (2010) / Extinguishing the fire
caption_attribution_description: English: RAF 84 Squadron Bell Griffin HAR2 dips its bucket off the coast of Atlit during 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire fighting
context_page_description: The Mount Carmel Forest Fire was a deadly forest fire that started on Mount Carmel in northern Israel, just south of Haifa. The fire began at about 11:00 local time on 2 December 2010, and spread quickly, consuming much of the Mediterranean forest covering the region. The fire claimed 44 lives, making it the deadliest in Israeli history. The included 36 Israel Prison Service members, most of them new recruits, as well as three senior police officers, among them the chief of Haifa's police, and three firefighter, among them a 16-year-old volunteer. More than 17,000 people were evacuated, including several villages in the vicinity of the fire, and there was considerable property and environmental damage.
  The fire appeared to be caused by human activity near the Druze town of Isfiya. On 6 December a 14-year-old resident of the town told police that he had inadvertently started the fire with a nargila coal. The teen's father argued that his son was witnessed in school at the time and could not have started the blaze.
  The fire was followed by a wave of arsons throughout Israel and the West Bank.
context_section_description: The Israel Fire and Rescue Services attempted to contain the blaze, and were assisted by Israeli volunteer firefighters and the Israel Police. In addition, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sent two battalions to assist with the extinguishing of the fire and various evacuations. It also sent heavy ground equipment from nearby military bases, including firetrucks, water tanks, cranes, D9 bulldozers and other equipment. The Israeli Air Force used an unmanned aerial vehicle for reconnaissance and intelligence collection. Use of other aircraft was prohibited because of a decade-old decision that prohibits military aircraft from being used in such a situation.
  Israel requested help from various countries, including the United States. Turkey and Greece offered to send assistance to fight the fire. Greece was the first country to respond, sending 4 CL-415 aircraft supported by 1 C-130H with technicians and equipment to Ramat David Airbase. Greece also sent 1 more CL-415 and 1 C-130H with firefighters the next day. Turkey sent two firefighting aircraft, which started to extinguish fire in the early hours of December 3. The Netherlands sent four fire extinguisher-aircraft, which could do their job as early as Monday, the 6th of December, since Benjamin Netanyahu asked the Netherlands, as well as Belgium, Germany, Finland, Norway, and Russia specifically for help. The Swiss Air Force provided three Cougar Helicopter with fire fighting capabilities. Cyprus dispatched a helicopter and a plane to assist in the fire-fighting effort. Russia sent one Ilyushin Il-76 (capable of holding up to forty tons of water) and two Be-200 special firefighting planes. Countries that offered help include Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Jordan, Romania, Spain with four seaplanes and the United Kingdom who sent two Royal Air Force helicopters. Italy and Egypt also offered firefighting planes.
  Netanyahu said he had a “warm” discussion with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who offered any assistance he could to help Israel with the fire, even though the U.S. was trying to restart peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians that broke down in September over the issue of construction West Bank settlements. The Palestinian Authority sent several fire trucks to help extinguish fires near the Israeli-Arab localities of Tayibe and Barta'a; on Sunday, December 5, 21 Palestinian firefighters joined the efforts in the Carmel Forest area itself. Senior Palestinian Authority security official Ahmed Rizek Abu Rabia said: "This is a human catastrophe. The Palestinian side is offering all the help it can through official channels."
  On December 4, the Israeli government decided to hire Evergreen's Boeing 747 Supertanker to help extinguish the blaze. The plane landed at 01:00 at Ben Gurion International Airport. The plane took off and at about 11:00 it released its first cargo of water. Later in the day it made a second sortie, dropping fire retardant.
  The Turkish assistance was considered surprising, due to the strain on the Turkish–Israeli relationship since the Turkish Gaza flotilla raid.
  At a Security Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu thanked Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan (and others) for their offer to help, saying he "hopes this will be the beginning of better relations between our two countries".
caption: RAF 84 Squadron Bell Griffin HAR2 dips its bucket off the coast of Atlit during firefighting efforts on December 3, 2010
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