Five thousand residents of the Brosh neighborhood of Tirat HaKarmel were evacuated from their homes Thursday evening, as were residents of the communities of Megadim and Hotrim. In addition, the prisoners and staff of IDF Prison Six were evacuated.
The communities of Nir Etzion, Ein Hod and Kibbutz Beit Oren were evacuated earlier in the day. Most of Beit Oren's houses were reportedly damaged by the blaze.
Highway 4 has been blocked for traffic.
The Head of the Samaria local authority, Gershon Mesika, informed Welfare Minister Yitzchak Herzog that the authority is prepared to absorb large numbers of evacuees from the fire in the Carmel.
The Samaria local authority prepared plans 18 months ago for absorbing half a million evacuees in wartime. The plan was rehearsed during the large Home Front drill this summer.
"The residents of Samaria will be happy to host and to receive with a loving hug every evacuated citizen,” Mesika said. “In the past, Samaria residents took into their homes residents of bombarded cities during the Gulf War, the Second Lebanon War and Cast Lead and we will be glad to do so again now,” he added.
An emergency HQ has been set up in the Samaria local authority, for connecting between evacuees and host families. Its number is 1-700-700-106.