Seconds of fire - years of healing: The two massive wildfires that ripped through the Jerusalem hills and the Canada Park and Eshtaol areas last week left widespread destruction in the areas' nature and forests.
Drone footage illustrates the extent of the destruction left by the two fires. The second fire, which was centered around Canada Park, near Modiin, burned a total of 20,000 dunams (4942 acres), of which 10,000 dunams (2471 acres) were forests under Jewish National Fund-Keren Kayemet LeYisrael (JNF-KKL) administration. The first fire burned 6000 dunams (1481 acres), 4000 of which were JNF-KKL-administered forests.
The JNF-KKL estimates that approximately two-thirds of the areas that were burned in the two fires were forests under its management that were totally burned and will require years-long rehabilitation.
JNF-KKL Chairwoman Ifat Ovadia-Luski stated: "In Canada Park, which was planted over decades and was the pride of central Israel, extensive areas of forest were burned. Unfortunately, this year we saw fires around the country, due to the war as well. We believe in nature's power of rehabilitation and in our ability in KKL to lead an innovative rehabilitation process that will restore the beloved nature areas for the benefit of the public."