JNF’sOPERATION CARMEL RENEWAL: FROM BLACK TO GREEN

Campaign Details and Talking Points
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FIRE FACTS AT A GLANCE

Severity

Casualties and Ecological Damage

Re-Greening the Carmel Region

JNF-KKL’s Role in Afforestation in Israel and the Carmel Forest

Forest Rehabilitation Overview

Natural Regeneration

Replanting

Recognition

Rehabilitating Green Spaces of Damaged Communities

Firefighting Equipment

JNF-KKL fire department

Primary Needs of JNF-KKL Fire Department

Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services

Primary Needs of Fire and Rescue Services

Scholarship Fund for Fire Scouts Volunteer Program

FIRE FACTS AT A GLANCE

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Severity

  • Worst natural disaster in Israel’s history
  • Fire lasted more than 82 hours
  • Blaze spread rapidly because of extremely strong eastern winds and dry conditions brought on by months of drought
  • Flames reached heights of 100 feet at times

Casualties and Ecological Damage

  • 43 people died
  • Around 17,000 people were evacuated
  • Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed
  • Approx. 5.4 million trees burned
  • Fire was so intense that some trees burned down to their roots, leaving gaping holes in the ground
  • Area of destruction: about 12,500 acres of natural woodlands and planted forests (1/3 of entire Carmel forest reserve)
  • Area equal to more than 7,000 football fields or 40% of the city of Jerusalem
  • This surpasses the extensive damage sustained by Galilee forests during 2006 Second Lebanon War, which lasted for 34 days and left about 4,000 acres charred
  • Eighty percent of the destroyed area was natural woodlands, not planted forests
  • Thousands of birds, reptiles and mammals were killed; those that managed to escape returned to a destroyed habitat

Re-Greening the Carmel Region

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Rehabilitating the Carmel regionis a complex process that willinvolve much more thansimply planting new trees. While a desire to replant immediately is an understandablereaction to such widespread destruction, the rehabilitation process will be guided by natural regeneration, and human intervention will be carefully planned and coordinated.

JNF-KKL’s Role in Afforestation in Israel and the CarmelForest

  • JNF-KKL is Israel’s official forestry administration, responsible for implementing the national forestry plan, maintaining and managing open spaces, and making them accessible to the public. Its century-long role in afforestation in Israel has made its foresters experts in forest management, rehabilitation, and soil conservation.
  • For more than 20 years, JNF-KKL has had a cooperative exchange program with the U.SForest Service to share research and best practices, and is a member of the International Arid Lands Consortium. In 2006 JNF-KKL gained extensive experience renewing burnt forests in the Galilee after the rocket-ignited fires of the Second Lebanon War.
  • With donations collected in Blue Boxes around the world, the CarmelForest was planted by JNF-KKL alongside naturally occurring brush and vegetation. Some of the trees that burned in the fire were between 50 and 100 years old.
  • JNF-KKL creates trails, scenic roads, picnic sites, and lookout points in the CarmelForest that enable Israelis and tourists to enjoy the beauty of this natural treasure. In a country where only 7% of the land is forested, this is particularly important. Great care is taken to preserve the landscape while making it accessible.
  • In addition to nurturing the planted forests in the Carmel, JNF-KKL also lends its resources and experience to care for the area’s natural woodlands. These activities are coordinated with the Nature and Parks Authority.
  • JNF-KKL has developed sophisticated firefighting and prevention methods to protect all of its forests, including the Carmel. It maintains a fleet of specially-designed fire trucks, installs early detection systems, mans forest watchtowers 24 hours a day, supervises controlled grazing to thin brush, and creates firebreaks to impede the spread of fires.

Forest Rehabilitation Overview

  • JNF-KKL is part of a government committee—led by Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan—responsible for formulating a comprehensive plan for rehabilitating the Carmelthat will be approved by the Cabinet.
  • The committee also includes representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Finance, Nature and Parks Authority, and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.
  • Detailed studies of the forest will be conducted to determine the best possible course for rehabilitation, which will likely rely heavily on natural regeneration coupled with some replanting.
  • Estimated cost of rehabilitating the forest: $46 million

Natural Regeneration

  • Extensive areas of the forest will be left to regenerate on their own, which will take decades.
  • This labor-intensive and costly process will require JNF-KKL foresters to:
  • Go tree-by-tree to determine which can be salvaged and which must be removed.
  • Clear debris (burnt vegetation that presents a fire hazard, burnt equipment from recreation sites, and trees that were bulldozed during the fire to stop the flames from spreading).
  • Prevent soil erosion in the absence of the vegetation that usually stems the flow of water. Although the earth appears scorched, it still contains “banks” of undamaged seeds and organic material vital to the regeneration process. If this is swept away by rain before the restoration gets underway, the damage will be intensified. Methods will include covering the ground with woodchips.
  • Monitor every square foot of the forest while trees regenerate because they will grow very densely, threatening tree health and forest biodiversity.
  • Perform frequent thinning operations to ensure tree health and drought resistance (more space around trees = less competition for water), and prevent the spread of future fires. Monitoring and thinning will continue for years until the trees reach a specified height.
  • Create firebreaks to prevent the spread of future fires.
  • Restore recreation infrastructure and scenic forest roads, which also serve as firefighting access roads.

Replanting

  • Alongside natural regeneration, limited areas of the Carmel will be prepared for eventual replanting once the state of the forest is thoroughly evaluated.
  • New plantings will mostly be focused around recreation areas, allowing the public to gradually return to and enjoy the Carmel’s unique landscape.
  • A variety of indigenous tree species will be used. Saplings will be prepared and nurtured in JNF-KKL tree nurseries.

Recognition

  • A central recognition area in the Carmelwill acknowledge contributions of $50,000 and above to the re-greening effort.Donations between $5,000 and $50,000 will be recognized at AIP.

Rehabilitating Green Spaces of Damaged Communities

  • While renewing the Carmel forest will take many years, JNF can have an immediate impact on the landscape of the region by helping to re-green the open spaces of communities that were devastated by the fires.
  • Communities include:
  • YeminOrdeYouthVillage – established in 1953 to take in children orphaned in the Holocaust; home today to more than 500 children from around the world
  • Ein Hod – picturesque artists’ village founded in 1953
  • Kibbutz Beit Oren – historic kibbutz in the heart of the Carmel Mountain Range founded in 1939
  • Druze town of Usifiya
  • Obviously, the primary concerns in the weeks and months ahead will be repairing infrastructure so residents can return to their homes and providing supplies to those who lost their possessions. However, JNF can offer its expertise to make these communities feel like home again and ensure that residents don’t come back to charred trees and ashen ground but rather to a green, welcoming environment.
  • Total estimated cost: $2 million

Firefighting Equipment

------Operation Carmel Renewal will provide Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services and JNF-KKL’s Fire Department(a combined 1,700 firefighters) with much-needed firefighting equipment. Each group lost an estimated $1 million worth of equipment in the fire, which includes depleted supplies and equipment that had to be abandoned in the flames.Operation Carmel Renewal will replace supplies as well as answer long-term needs to ensure a robust fire service.

JNF-KKL fire department

  • JNF-KKL JNF foresters are responsible for maintaining and protecting 20,000 acres of land in the Carmel area.
  • 200 JNF foresters familiar with every trail and road in the forest fought the Carmel blaze alongside the fire department and emergency personnel, working not just in the woodlands but in the communities they border as well.
  • JNF-KKL maintains a fleet of specialized fire trucks in each of its regions operated by experienced forest rangers. They are built according to JNF-KKL specifications, carry large amounts of water, and can access areas that other fire engines can’t. These trucks proved invaluable during the Carmel fire.

Primary Needs of JNF-KKL Fire Department

  • 10 specialized forest fire trucks - $350,000 each
  • Fire retardant chemicals - $1.5 million
  • 200 equipment packages – a $25,000 package includes personal safety gear and protective clothing for firefighters, oxygen tanks, thermal cameras, hoses and nozzles, forcible entry tools, etc.
  • Total estimated cost for primary needs: $10 million

Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services

  • As the U.S. fundraising arm of Friends of Israel Firefighters (FIF), JNF is dedicated to providing Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services with safety equipment, firefighting supplies, new trucks, and upgraded command stations.
  • All donations made by JNF donors are matched by the Israeli government.
  • To date, JNF donations have purchased more than 50 fire trucks that have been deployed in communities throughout Israel.

Primary Needs of Fire and Rescue Services

  • 1,500 equipment packages – a $25,000 package includes personal safety gear and protective clothing for firefighters, oxygen tanks, thermal cameras, hoses and nozzles, forcible entry tools, etc.
  • 50 Saar fire trucks - equipped for all types of emergencies, from fires in urban and industrial areas to forest fires to building collapses.

Cost per vehicle (including equipment, taxes): $500,000

Donation needed to dedicate a truck: $250,000 (funds will be matched by Israeli government)

  • Rotem compact fire trucks - small, maneuverable, and easily deployed; can navigate narrow streets as well as rough terrain; ultimate first response vehicle for all fire and rescue situations.

Cost per vehicle (including equipment, taxes): $250,000

Donation needed to dedicate a truck: $125,000 (funds will be matched by Israeli government)

  • 10 firefighting motorcycles - can navigate heavy traffic in urban areas to provide quick and immediate support prior to the arrival of additional vehicles.

Cost per vehicle: $50,000
Naming opportunities not available

  • 10 alternative rescue vehicles - able to easily traverse forests and agricultural sites, as well as access areas like the Old Cities of Jerusalem and Yaffo that larger fire and rescue vehicles cannot reach.

Cost per vehicle: $36,000

Naming opportunities not available

  • Other specialized trucks are needed; information, costs, and dedication opportunities available upon request.
  • Total estimated cost for primary needs: $73,360,000

Scholarship Fund for Fire Scouts Volunteer Program

  • At age 14, all Israelis are required to complete a minimum number of volunteer hours. Since 1956, the Fire Scouts program has allowed teenagers to fulfill this requirement by volunteering at their local fire stations. Many fire chiefs and high-ranking firefighters began their careers in this transformative program.
  • Volunteers assist firefighters around the station and are allowed on emergency calls once they complete advanced training. However, they are never taken into areas of extreme danger and are forbidden from entering a structure that is on fire or has individuals trapped inside. They remain outside, at a safe distance, to help with hoses, water, ladders, etc.
  • The program currently has 350 participants; many more are interested but do not pursue it because they must pay for their safety equipment, unlike other service opportunities available to them.
  • JNF’s goal is to expand the program to 1,000 volunteersby establishing a scholarship fund in memory of Elad Riven, the 16-year-old volunteer firefighter who lost his life in the Carmel blaze.
  • In addition, we would like to create educational rooms within fire stations—equipped with computers and other educational tools—for young volunteers to use between calls.
  • Total cost to expand program: $250,000 per year. Naming opportunities begin at $1 million.