Some 750,000 trees have gone up in flames since the Lebanon war began.
Fires caused by Katyusha strikes in the Galilee have destroyed large areas of forests. The Jewish National Fund estimates that rehabilitating the forests will take 60 years. Data indicate that 750,000 trees, including cypress, oak, pistachio and pine have burned. The damage is estimated at over NIS 36 million.
Since the start of the war in the north, JNF firefighters have handled approximately 600 fires in Galilee forests. 7,500 dunam (1,875 acres) on the Naftali Ridge burned, 75% of the forest in this area. Over 2,000 dunam (500 acres) burned in the Iria Forest and Beit Keshet Forest, and severe damage was also caused to other forests in the eastern and western Galilee.
Friends of JNF worldwide have already donated $5 million in an emergency campaign towards fighting the fires and rehabilitating the forests.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 10, 2006
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