Last update - 00:00 25/06/2007
Firefighters battling to control toxic blaze near Beit Shemesh
By Roni Singer-Heruti, Haaretz Correspondent
Some 25 firefighter squads on Monday are battling a blaze that broke out near Beit Shemesh as a heat wave sparked fires throughout the country.
The Beit Shemesh fire began during the afternoon, and was apparently sparked by welding carried out near a factory in the local industrial zone. It soon spread to a row of factory buildings, including a plastics manufacturer, which caused heavy and toxic smoke to bellow.
Firefighters instructed nearby residents of nearby Kibbutz Tzora living within 200-meters from the conflagration to evacuate their homes, and enjoined others to stay indoors and keep their windows shut.
Over 20 dunams of Tzora Forest vegetation were burnt, and the blaze was brought under control only during the evening.
Elsewhere, fires reduced some 5 dunams of forest in the Lachish area to ashes, and a number of orchards in the Sharon region, Jerusalem's Ein Karem neighborhood and Kfar Sirkin were also damaged by fires.