Fires in Lebanon too
Israel isn't the only place where there were fires over the weekend. Lebanon had some 120 forest fires break out over the weekend, as they have had the same hot dry weather for the last few months that we have had. (By the way, it finally rained this morning).According to official figures released by the country’s Civil Defense ministry, about 120 fires broke out on Saturday and Sunday, prompting Lebanese President Michel Suleiman to visit affected areas.In fact, Turkey's aircraft went to Lebanon from Israel.
Political bickering in the country delayed all developmental projects, Suleiman said during a tour of the affected village of Fitri, 45 km north of Beirut.
“Fires have reached the homes of people who have nothing to do with politics,” the president said. Several of Fitri’s residents were forced to flee their homes after flames reached closes to the village’s residential areas.
Suleiman said real crisis management strategies should be carried out in order to douse raging fires.
Several media reports said Lebanon has asked Turkey for help to put off the flames raging in the woods. Apart from three firefighting helicopters, Lebanon lacks equipment to extinguish forest fires that erupt on a near yearly basis.
Lebanese Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said 120 fires erupting on the same day all “raises serious questions about the possible involvement of arsonists.”Maybe Jeffrey Goldberg wants to raise some money for Lebanon.
In an interview with LBC television while inspecting the blaze-hit Jbeil town of Fatri, Baroud voiced his fears that some of the fires might have been intentionally set, noting “that the army’s helicopters and the Sikorsky firefighting aircraft currently engaged in combating the fire are not enough.”
The minister revealed that “the interior ministry is working on providing fifty 4×4 vehicles, each with a capacity of 50,000 liters, for rapid intervention upon the eruption of any blaze.”
Labels: forest fire, Lebanon
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:49 PM
2 Comments:
And weren't Hezbollah and the rest of the Arabs cheering when the forest fire happened in Israel? But its always wrong when it happens close to home. We won't forget how the Arabs thought Israel deserved what happened to it!
So glad the rain came! :))
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