(haipo) - "It was only by luck that there was no big fire this year, but the danger next year will be double compared to what we experienced in 2016," says the source of the cave on the subject. According to the same source, the plan is not being carried out because the Haifa municipality is delaying its approval by the city council.
As a reminder, in February 2022 the government approved the national plan to deal with and prepare for huge fires, following the climate changes and worsening trends of the fires expected to occur in our region in the coming years.
As part of the plan, buffer zones are established in localities near the forest and grove. The role of the buffer zones is to prevent the spread of fires and reduce damage to life and property, as happened in Haifa in 2016 with the huge fire that severely damaged approximately 600 residential buildings and forced thousands of residents to flee their homes.
The program is carried out in localities bordering forests, according to the order of priority defined in the work of the headquarters coordinated by the National Security Headquarters (NSH), and is budgeted by the Ministries of Finance, Internal Security, Environmental Protection, Agriculture and RMI. Haifa, as mentioned, is included in the multi-year plan.
In Haifa, as mentioned, there is already a plan for the establishment of buffer zones in the neighborhoods adjacent to the forest and forest, a plan that was approved for implementation by the fire and rescue organization, but according to the claim of parties involved in the issue, its implementation is being delayed by the municipality.
"The plans for buffer zones in the neighborhoods of Dania, Sabioni Dania, Kabvir, Carmelia, Ramat Almogi, Ramat Begin and Ramat Golda have been approved. Implementation is being delayed due to internal organizational matters in the municipality," claims the source.
Haifa was chosen to participate in the national project and receive funding from the state due to the potential danger in it, the municipality's duty to act on the matter and Vifa one hour before. Several areas were characterized where there are forests near houses and in order to keep the danger away from the area, the trees need to be cut down and buffer areas opened. The contractor planned the works and the fire department gave the approvals and now it remains for the municipality to act.
As mentioned, the neighborhoods Dania, Sabioni Dania, Kabvir, Carmelia Ramat Almogi, Begin and Golda have already received approval. This year, luckily, no major fire occurred in the area, but if buffer zones are not created, the danger will be twofold because there is a large amount of grass and vegetation."
The same source says that the municipality must act immediately in order not to reach the situation we were in in 2016, when over 600 buildings were burned. According to him, the municipality has the ability and the budgetary support to significantly reduce the danger. The residents should also take an active part and apply pressure wherever possible to bring the project to fruition as soon as possible," he concludes.
It is important to note that the State Comptroller stated in 2012 that the spread of the Carmel fire that broke out in 2010 could have been avoided, among other things, by creating buffer lines and implementing the bodies' professional guidelines. In November 2016, six years after the previous big fire in Carmel, 25 forest and forest fires broke out across the country, some following deliberate arson. The fires spread to residences and public buildings in the settlements, and for the first time also reached the core of the city of Haifa and its populated neighborhoods. In Haifa, the fire affected an area of approximately 1,200 dunams at the seam line between the city and the open area, and resulted in the evacuation of approximately 60,000 residents and extensive damage to property.
The auditor's report issued in 2018, about two years after the wave of fires in 2016, included findings on the deficiencies that were raised in previous reports and remained in place, without being corrected. The auditor's report stated that the local authorities, which are at a high level of risk due to their proximity to the forest and grove, have not qualified buffer zones and escape routes.
In 2022, as mentioned, two government decisions were made which were intended to promote the establishment of buffer lines in the local authorities and to provide an answer to the financing problem with the help of budget allocation. Government Resolution No. 1091 of February 2022, which established a national plan to deal with forest, forest and land fires
are open to be under the joint responsibility of the Ministry of National Security and the Ministry of the Interior.
In accordance with Government Decision 1091, the Ministry of National Security is promoting the implementation of the buffer zones, according to the risk assessment determined by the fire department. According to the rating of the fire brigade, the levels of risk and the budget allocated each year, Haifa was chosen as the first destination for the implementation of the government's decision. Accordingly, in 2022, the Ministry of National Security signed an agreement with the Municipality of Haifa to establish the buffer zones in three areas which were defined as having the highest risk level and which, after cost evaluation, corresponded to the budget of 13 million NIS allocated for this.
No response was given from the Haifa municipality.
Yes.
I ask, are the neighborhoods that make up the neighborhood safe for me?
Will the fire be extinguished?
As usual with us, first they wait for Hezbollah to fire several hundreds of missiles and start fires in the entire area and only then will they investigate why they did not prepare in advance fire reinforcements and the creation of buffer zones... Everything is clear with us, the thinking is only "why didn't we see and prevent the mistake" there is no thinking in advance and prevention in advance.
Bus use dropped to 25% in Haifa and the Kiryat from 35% in 2000 and 45% in the 80s. Instead of car use being 25% like in all European metropolises.
We are marching towards catastrophe on the roads.
For Yael, the city was miraculously saved by the Nosh matron's program. There are enough bus lines with a good frequency for the Nosh and they are much faster than the cumbersome matron which is a double bus in total. You only need to approve the association to use double buses and it will be even more convenient
Haifa, the beautiful city of Israel, was saved last year in the great fire, therefore the buffer zones need to be cleared of vegetation urgently!
Just changing the mayor that stuck sticks in Haifa's wheels in every area for 5 years.
Did not promote anything, created a corrupt manager 2030 who wasted time and money and created nothing. Destroyed government programs like Matron Nosh. Destroyed the train tunnel that would have saved the coastal neighborhoods from the huge fence that will now be built around the beaches. Destroyed the marina initiative in front of Rambam. Killed the beach front plan. Destroy Wadi Givurum with roads. We must pass the reins to a professional experienced in management, and this is Borovsky, the only serious one.
Yes
Is Verdia safe from the spread of fires?