Investigation: the fire in Soroka and the paths of fire
(The reaction of the fire fighters is given at the end of the article)
From the investigation I carried out, it appears that the fire broke out following the ignition of a pile of dry clippings left at the bottom of the buildings. The pile of clippings was created when a new path was broken, the purpose of which is to allow access to the fire brigade and to create a buffer zone between the forest and the neighborhood.
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The possible cause of the fire
In the morning of that day, workers were working in the yard of Soroka 17 and sawing metal on the edge of the buffer path. Two possibilities are on the table as to the direct cause of the fire. One is that sparks created from sawing the metal flew towards the clippings pile and ignited it. The second is that one of the workers threw a cigarette at the pile and that's how it lit up. One way or another, one thing is clear: the fire started in the pile of trimmings left by the contractor of the buffer zone. And this, as you can see in the following picture:
The pile of burnt prunings
The fire spreads to the houses
At this point the fire rose and spread towards the burning pine trees in the yard of Soroka 19. The residents of Soroka 19 were very blessed when the fire caused a metal irrigation pipe to burst and splash a lot of water on the burning trees, which greatly aided the extinguishing effort. We will return to this point later. If so, at this point the firefighters arrived and helped put out the fire. What provoked a great uproar among the residents is that the firefighters did not know at all about the path that was created in their honor under the houses, and they did not have maps that indicated the fire paths throughout Haifa. It is important to emphasize at this juncture that the firefighting authority was the one that demanded the breaking of the paths in the first place, and as mentioned, that the paths were intended for exactly this purpose: to reach the fire from close, and not from the far street.
The fire trails are marked in yellow. The burning area is marked in red. What is not clear, is why in the announcement published by the firefighting authority there was no hint of the details that I just mentioned?
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Is the fire authority trying to hide from the public that due to negligence in the implementation of the buffer zones, a fire was caused that caused a lot of damage to property and almost cost lives? One thing is certain: a few hours after the fire, all the piles of dry prunings, including the one that caused the fire, were miraculously cleared away. We will return to this later.
The buffer zones and damage to the grove
We briefly mentioned the buffer zones and it's time to talk about the urban context. I recently published an article on the subject:
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In the article I mentioned that I was disturbed by the arbitrariness, in my opinion, with which the work on the buffer zones in Haifa is carried out. I will briefly mention that following the fire in Carmel, a government decision was made to create buffer zones between forest areas and residential areas. Haifa was the first authority to deal with the issue and it is worth noting this positively. However, I found that in many places very rough work was carried out in the field, which may have left behind more harm than good.
Attached for your reference is the map of the buffer zones that is published here for the first time:
Fire buffer zones in Haifa - according to the years, it can be seen that the map is not completely updated, which raises a question about the quality of the coordination between the operations manager who is responsible for the implementation of the buffer zones, and the engineering manager who is responsible for all the planning in the city. It should be noted that during this period the planning process of the master plan for the Haifa valleys is being carried out under the director of engineering. The plan materials do not include the buffer zones, both those that have been implemented and those that are to be implemented, and it is clear to everyone that this is a critical issue for the urban nature in Haifa - the valleys - and for the planning of the interface between the natural forest and the neighborhoods. And in general, the map raises a question about the quality of the planning. Why were these areas chosen and not others? Why on these schedules? It was appropriate to present an organized program to the public.
From my tours in the field it appears that, in fact, in all the different buffer zones huge piles of dry brush were left behind, the most common cause of forest fires.
A city on the edge of nature
The buffer zone between the Dania neighborhood (Hod Carmel) and the Carmel Park:
The buffer zone between Dania (Hod Carmel) and Carmel Park. Note the path on the height line in the center of the picture.
Dry pruning along the Ha'itz areas:
Along the entire length of the buffer zone you can find piles of dry prunings. In addition, the new paths invite people to them who set up "zola" and bonfires along them:
From here to the buffer zone of Ramat Golda.
The fuel line that comes out of Ramat Golda and next to it an area that has been exposed:
Dry pruning along the fuel line:
Dry pruning along the entire length of the interface between the neighborhood and the forest:
Woodland thinning works are being carried out near the Reali School, Azoza branch. The argument behind the work is that the trees can be left as long as all the low branches are trimmed and the bushes and grasses next to them are mowed. Massive pruning was carried out and apparently also felling near the kindergarten above the wood, despite their opposition of the gardeners and the neighboring tenants.
Near the exposed area there is a wide path that can accommodate a fire truck. In the picture it looks narrow because of the grass that grew in it during the winter and spring.
A solution without harming the grove
My solution is not to create serious ecological damage to nature, but to strengthen this path as a fire path that will allow access to the fire brigade. If we want to prevent forest fires completely, there is an easy solution: eliminate the entire forest. But green nature is important to us: it provides us with oxygen. It provides us with pleasure and quality of life. He reminds us why we are here in the Land of Israel. The solution of felling and pruning wherever there is a fear of fire is similar to the following conclusion: to prevent buildings from collapsing in earthquakes let's destroy all the buildings. We must learn the balance between nature conservation and actions to prevent fires.
Indeed, buffer zones and fire paths are important. This is also a conclusion I learned through my research on the subject. It is even possible that the buffer zone on Soroka Street, despite the dangerous pile of clippings that was there as a result of it, actually saved the forest below the buildings, from the stupid behavior of the workers there. who knows. But it is important to do the buffer zones properly. Without piles of dry clippings, which I assure you, if you don't turn around: we will have more fires in the city following them. Without excision and massive exposure without account. I remind you, you have to reach a reasonable balance. And finally, I return to the point I mentioned at the beginning. Buffer zones will not prevent fires and will not significantly stop fires. The flames of the fire in Carmel also managed to cross dozens of meters of asphalt when they crossed Route 4, so they will surely cross a buffer zone of about 5 meters. The most important solution is to connect the buffer zones with available water lines, which is currently nowhere to be found, despite severe criticism from the state auditor, which includes a reprimand from the Haifa municipality. In fact, it turns out that there is almost no fire hydrant all over the city. I call on the city of Haifa to close this serious gap, and to install a network of water lines throughout the city in general and in the areas of the interface with nature in particular. It is even possible to connect sprinklers that in the event of a fire will feed water towards the forest and thus the residents will remain protected.
In conclusion, it is important for me to emphasize that not everything is gray. If so, I would like to positively mention the forestry official of the Haifa municipality, Avi Nebo, and the head of the operations director, Sohail Abbas, director of the gardens and landscape department. I get the impression that these are two professional people who perform their work with great success and from a true belief in the goal, providing quality service to the city of Haifa and its residents.
The response of the fire fighters, Haifa station to what was said in the article:
The purpose of the fire line on Soroka Street (like all the other fire lines and isolation paths) is to create a separation between the forest and the residences. Naturally, houses that are located close to the forest/grove and even more so as in the present case where the trees are physically touching the buildings are at a high level of risk of injury during a fire incident.
Not only that, but the lessons of the past teach us about many cases here in Haifa in which houses and property were severely damaged, and the distance from injury to the soul was short.
In the area to which the article refers, i.e. Soroka Street, a buffer zone as defined in the regulations has not yet been implemented. The works that were carried out included a fire lane whose width is significantly narrower than required, and in addition to the claims made in the body of the article, it is not a standard access route for a fire truck and as of the time of writing these lines is not accessible from our point of view (angles of entry and withdrawal from the area during an emergency, the width of the road, etc.).
Works to establish a buffer zone as defined in the regulations will be carried out only after approval of the draft regulations that are on the desk of the Minister of Internal Security. The claim that the fire authority is trying to hide something is puzzling to us. On the contrary: the Fire Authority and Haifa Regional Station published the word of the fire, its course and conclusions in real time. This is how we practice regularly.
It should also be noted that we are trying in every way to promote awareness and provide information regarding fire safety values on the one hand, and on the other hand to speed up the actual execution of works to dilute and remove fire charges from the line of houses, even before signing the regulations. Any such performance is blessed, as the next fire will not wait for us....
After approval and signing of the regulations, the issue will be properly budgeted so that a professional buffer zone will be created which will include access roads, water infrastructures, thinning and lowering the biomass of the plant.
Regarding the issue of leaving the trimmings in the field by the performing contractor:
The local authority contracts with contractors to carry out the works in the field. The responsibility for removing the excess falls on the owner of the property - the local authority. The fire authority does not itself perform pruning or evacuation and in fact does not serve as a party in the matter at all. In exceptional cases, the forestry officer may allow the shredding of the area to be left as organic material.