A large firefighting force has been working over the past few hours to fight a brushfire that has been spreading in a wooded area near the moshav of Ksalon in the Beit Shemesh region.
30 fighting crews and six firefighting aircraft operated at the scene to contain the spread of the flames. Due to the blaze, Route 395 was closed to traffic between Eshtaol Junction and the Sataf.
The Israel Fire and Rescue Service updated that due to the danger to homes in the community, the first line of houses in Ksalon's Megillot Ha'Esh neighborhood have been evacuated.
The Israel Fire and Rescue Authority later announced that firefighters had brought the blaze near the moshav of Ksalon under control.
The authority said there is no longer any danger to nearby homes, and that firefighting crews are continuing operations to fully extinguish the remaining hotspots.