Israeli firefighters battle Dead Sea blaze for 2nd day, arson suspected

Over 20 Israeli firefighting teams continued attempts to gain control of a wildfire blazing next to the Dead Sea on Tuesday morning. Preliminary investigations determined that there is a suspicion that the fire was caused by arson.

Firefighting teams from the West Bank, Central, South and Dan districts, as well as volunteer firefighters, were taking part in the efforts.

The fire began on Monday near Kibbutz Kalia, north of the Dead Sea.

"The firefighters are working with determination to contain and extinguish the fire in light of the weather conditions," said Shiko Bar Dov, the commander of the West Bank district of the Fire and Rescue Services. "We will continue to operate in the field with the help of engineering tools and water supply from the IDF, the local authorities and Israel Police officers."

Israel's highway 90 reopens amid day 2 of the Dead Sea fire

Highway 90, which was temporarily closed yesterday, is open to traffic in both directions.

Bar Dov stressed that dry and windy conditions are expected in the coming days, calling on Israelis not to light fires in open areas and not to carry out maintenance work involving fire or flames, such as welding, cutting iron or work that causes sparks.

On Sunday night, acres of date palms in Kibbutz Kalia were burnt in a fire. While firefighters were able to gain control of the fire, a renewed fire was reported in the area on Monday afternoon.