Facing Fires, Israel Appeals for Help

By ETHAN BRONNER

JERUSALEM — A fire that killed 41 people in the parched north of Israelcontinued to rage on Friday, turning into the worst natural disaster inthe country’s history with thousands of acres burned, thousands ofresidents evacuated and a dozen countries rushing planes, helicoptersand personnel to offer aid.

The Carmel Forest around the port city of Haifa, normally rolling hills carpeted in pine, was an apocalyptic scene,with rows of blazing trees, the sky crimson from flames soaring dozensof feet, and embers flying for miles, smacking the car windshields onnearby roads. Relief workers, overcome by smoke, lay sprawled on theground.

“We are in a very harsh event,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahusaid at an emergency cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv. “We have more than 40dead. People are missing. People are injured. Many perished inadmirable courage and sacrificed themselves in order to save others.”

Israel, which often provides doctors and aid workers for disastersabroad, had never before solicited such international help. Aid arrivedfrom across the region on Friday, and may have even led to a slightopening in the diplomatic standoff between Turkey and Israel.

After Turkey sent two helicopters and said it would coordinate NATO’s relief efforts here, Mr. Netanyahu called Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey to thank him. It was the highest-level contact between the two countries in months.

“We very much appreciate this mobilization, and I am certain that itwill be an opening toward improving relations between our twocountries, Turkey and Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu’s office quoted him assaying.

But Mr. Erdogan said Turkey’s efforts should not be interpreted as a diplomatic opening.

“In the face of such a natural disaster, we needed to help as ahumanitarian and Islamic requirement,” Mr. Erdogan was quoted by hisoffice as saying in reply to Mr. Netanyahu. “Our planes will remain inyour country until the fire is brought under control.”

Mr. Erdogan was quoted by Turkish media as saying that relationsbetween the two countries would remain chilly until Israel apologizedand provided compensation for the deaths of nine Turks, including onewith American citizenship, when Israeli commandos boarded a ship thatwas trying to break the Gaza embargo in May.

Turkey was not alone in pitching in despite diplomatic difficulties with Israel. The Palestinian Authority, which cut off American-sponsored direct peace talks with the Netanyahu government two months ago, sent fire trucks.

In addition, Bulgaria sent about 100 firefighters, and Egypt, Jordan,Spain, Russia, Romania and Azerbaijan sent equipment. The United Statesmade available 20,000 liters of fire suppressant chemical, its embassyannounced. President Obama offered condolences and more help, saying, “That’s what friends do for each other.”

As night fell, pilots had to interrupt their missions of dumping waterand fire retardants until daybreak, said Micky Rosenfeld, a policespokesman. He said 17,000 people had been evacuated and 7,000 acresdestroyed.

The blaze, whose cause remained unclear, broke out at midday Thursdayand spread with an unpredictable and ferocious speed, witnesses said,fed by strong winds and the driest conditions in years. It quicklyoverwhelmed Israel’s 1,400-member firefighting force and raiseddifficult questions about preparedness in a country that likes to thinkit is ready for anything.

The government said it was investigating the possibility of arson, butPolice Chief David Cohen said at a news conference that it was morelikely that the fire had been caused by negligence.

Some commentators called for the resignation of the interior minister,Eli Yishai, saying that the drought and heat this year had producednumerous calls to bolster the firefighting force, and that those callswere ignored. Mr. Yishai said there would be an investigation into theadequacy of fire preparations.

Israel is one of the few countries whose tree population has grownmarkedly in recent decades, with tree-planting a common act ofdedication in the Zionist movement.

Mr. Netanyahu acknowledged that Israel had none of the firefightingaircraft needed for the disaster, and he thanked the countries that hadresponded. He pledged to restore the north and to acquire the neededequipment.

Almost all the fatalities were caused when a bus carrying prisonservice officer cadets to help evacuate a prison was engulfed inflames. The Haifa police chief, who was driving ahead of the bus, wascritically injured.

Israeli firefighters, above, took a break on thesecond day of battling the blaze in the Carmel Forest, which by Fridayhad killed 41 people and displaced 17,000 residents

Haifa University and a psychiatric hospital were evacuated. Livestockon communal and other farms were moved, but many animals remained atrisk.

Aluf Benn, a columnist for the newspaper Haaretz, wrote on Fridaythat the blaze was the equivalent of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, meaningit was a disaster for Israel because the authorities were unprepared.

“Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who is responsible for the firemen, andthe head of the Fire and Rescue Services, Shimon Romah, were nowhere tobe found yesterday,” he wrote. “They are obvious candidates for losingtheir jobs as a result of the disaster.”

Mr. Benn also noted that international standards required onefirefighter for every 1,000 citizens, but Israel has one for every10,000.