Forest fires destroyed 264,100 trees in Israel last summer and caused overall damage estimated at IL 6 million, the Jewish National Fund reported. The past summer was one of the worst in Israel’s history with respect to forest fires, according to the JNF, A total of 511 blazes were recorded, most of them spotted by the JNF’s forest rangers. Despite the loss of trees–mainly pine and eucalyptus–the JNF reported an increase in timber production this year from the continuing process of thinning out forests. In the seven months from April to October, 29, 360 tons of timber were out in JNF forests in central Israel. Most of it went to the local furniture and building industries.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.