19/08/2021
With the fires burning near Jerusalem (they are under control now, thank God) I thought it timely to share some pics from the memorial for the Carmel fire of 2010.
On Dec 2, 2010, I looked out the window from my home in Isifiya where my family and I had been living. I saw what looked like a small fire in the forest but out of control. I called the fire department to report it and was told no problem, everything is under control. Well for those who know Hebrew and have lived Israel, whenever you hear someone say, "no problem" you should know that there is a problem. By the time they sent a fire truck to the area, it was too late and the fire was too big for the fire truck. I quickly jumped in my car to drive to my kids school in order to evacuate them, knowing that if I waited the road to our village would be closed. Against the recommendations of the local authorities, we decided to stay put. Thank God, the winds shifted and the fire went the other direction, but 77 hours later, the fire had destroyed over 50,000 dunams (12,000 acres) and had taken 44 lives. It was our deadliest civil disaster up to that point. This is the memorial that was built one year after the fire. The metal bow is 44 tons and has the names of the 44 victims on it. 11 years later, it is wonderful to see the green forest in the background.
