Transcript KKL-JNF Northern region presentation on the Carmel forest fires

Mount Carmel Forest Fires 2010
Presentation by
KKL-JNF Northern Region
Carmel Fires 2010
KKL-JNF – Action Chronology
• On Thursday, December 2, 2010, at around 10:30 a.m., fire broke out west of the
Druze town of Usfiya.
• At 11:00 a.m., following his assessment of the fire, the Carmel forester, Ya’akov
Arak, urgently requested emergency intervention from KKL-JNF.
• At 12:45, the head of the KKL-JNF firefighting division, Rami Zaritzky, boarded a
police helicopter to observe and evaluate the situation.
• On Thursday afternoon it was decided to mobilize all fire trucks and manpower
from the KKL-JNF regions to the Carmel (two fire engines from the central
region and one from the southern region). 12 KKL-JNF fire engines were
employed. Other KKL-NJF vehicles were used for logistics and transporting
manpower.
• Total number of firefighters: 125 during the day and about 25 at night.
• The KKL-JNF director of the northern region and that of the western Galilee
were part of the Israel National Emergency Management Center.
• The KKL-JNF teams initially focused on defending the planted forests in the
Usfiya area. Towards Friday evening, they focused on the region between Nir
Etzion and the Ya’arot Hacarmel Hotel.
Carmel Fires 2010
KKL-JNF – Chronology
• Toward Thursday afternoon control maps were transferred to the on-site KKLJNF firefighters and the arriving teams, including the firefighting services and
the defense forces. Information resources were used, including thermal photos
to locate sources of heat.
• During the whole operation, countless workers throughout the KKL-JNF
organization offered to help. Due to the severity of the situation, their offers
were denied.
Carmel Fires 2010
Areas of the Blaze
Carmel Fires 2010
Areas of the Blaze
‫וככה זה נראה‬
Mount Carmel Forest Fires 2010
Summary
~ 8,650 acres were burned
~ 8,900 acres of planted forest tended by KKL-JNF, remained
unharmed
12 fire trucks were used (6 from the north, 4 from the center, 2
from the south)
3 tankers, provided by contractors
2 tractors
125 KKL-JNF workers on morning shifts, from 6:00 a.m. to
6:00 p.m.
25 KKL-JNF workers on night shifts
Carmel Fires 2010
Planning and Rehabilitation
Planning and Rehabilitation Principles
(drafted after the Carmel fires of 1989)
Professional Committee on the Rehabilitation and
Development of the Carmel - Recommendations
1. Comprehensive plan for the Carmel – rehabilitating and
cultivating the landscape for public recreation and nature
preservation, with attention to mitigating damage in the
eventuality of future fires
2. Management planning according to area type
3. Management testing and accompanying research
4. Publicity
Carmel Fires 2010
Planning and Rehabilitation
Planning and Rehabilitation Principles (drafted after the Carmel fire of 1989)
Professional Committee on the Rehabilitation
and Development of the Carmel - Guidelines
Rehabilitation of plants in the burned area
1. Rehabilitation of the burned forest will be based on the cultivation of natural
regeneration, which has already begun. Wide-scale planting will not take place, as the
natural, dense sprouting of pines in the burned area renders planting redundant.
2. A comprehensive publicity campaign will be launched in Israel and abroad on the
appropriate means for rehabilitating the Carmel Forests.
3. The option of planting or sowing will only be available on intensive-use resort sites, for
completion or variation of natural regeneration, according to a respective plan.
4. Species and varieties foreign to the Carmel, within areas reserved for natural vegetation,
will not be planted.
5. The need for the collection and generation of plants, rare or unique to the Carmel, that
were destroyed in the fires, will be examined for the purpose of returning them to the
area. A preservation program will be undertaken, accordingly.
Carmel Fires 2010
Planning and Rehabilitation
Planning and Rehabilitation Principles (drafted after the Carmel fire of 1989)
Professional Committee on the Rehabilitation and Development of the Carmel
Guidelines
Rehabilitation of plants in the burned area
1. A comprehensive, long-term plan will be formulated for the rehabilitation of
the Carmel Forests, including the principles of natural regeneration.
2. Thinning of areas of young pine trees, only after clarifying when and at
what rate to thin the growth.
3. Pruning of broad-leaf trees, regenerated from shoots.
4. Grazing on the burned land will not be allowed in the first years, until the
young trees are established.
5. Paths and hiking and education trails will be marked in the burned areas,
and the public will informed as to the damage caused by walking outside
the indicated paths.
Carmel Fires 2010
Planning and Rehabilitation
Planning and Rehabilitation Principles (drafted after the Carmel fire of 1989)
Committee on the
Rehabilitation and Development of the Carmel - Guidelines
Plant management and paths to reduce fires
Plans include:
1. Improvement and development of roads and accessibility to fire trucks and firefighting
teams, while avoiding damage to landscape and nature.
2. Wide firebreaks, with low flammability vegetation, to block even the most severe fires.
Firebreaks will impede the spread of fires in areas with flammable growth, particularly
thick forests, and will create a divide between them and residential and other areas.
3. Intensive management will be employed for designing the natural vegetation, to be
maintained at a low flammable state, both in terms of the forests’ tree layers – by
thinning, pruning and cleaning the pruned branches, and the undergrowth layers –
through high-density grazing.
4. Additional means of creating firebreaks will be explored, such as controlled burning and
rehabilitation of areas for traditional agriculture.
5. Controlled thinning and pruning and evacuating tree trunks in dense pine forests
6. Cattle, sheep and goat grazing will be allowed and encouraged in areas of the Carmel
National Park, with attention to preservation of the landscape.
Carmel Fires 2010 – Cooperation
Rehabilitation Teams
A joint committee of four teams has been organized, comprising the Israel’s
Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, KKL-JNF and the Society
for the Protection of Nature in Israel
KKL-JNF representation:
•Team for physical rehabilitation, including infrastructure and equipment
– Yishai Soker
•Team for long-term ecological rehabilitation - Dr. Omri Bonneh
and David Brand
•Team for mapping and G.I.S. – Yisrael Tauber
•Team for information and public relations – KKL-JNF Spokesperson
Carmel Fires - 2010
Ahead of us, much work.
But the catastrophe is behind us.
What remains is to rehabilitate and build with
humility and respect for nature,
and an understanding of the environment.
Many thanks to all the KKL-JNF workers who took
part in this great effort. Thank you for your
unwavering dedication.