Fire-fighters have overpowered the deadly blaze which tore through a forest in northern Israel after a four-day battle aided by aircraft from the around the world, officials said on Sunday. "The fire is under control. There are no longer any major seats of the blaze. The task now is to make sure it doesn't break out again," fire chief Shimon Romah said.
And Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aaronovitch, quoted by his spokesman, said earlier: "I hope we will have finished in the coming hours" as aircraft from several countries worked to damp down the zone.
The tide appeared to have turned as a flotilla of international firefighting planes was reinforced on Sunday by a Boeing 747 supertanker, the world's largest water-bombing aircraft, rented from the United States. "I haven't seen any flame for the last hour. It is better than I have seen in the last three days. We definitively have the back of it (the fire) broken," British helicopter pilot Euan Johnson told AFP at Haifa military base.
By late morning, the Boeing supertanker was pouring 76,000 litres (20,500 gallons) of water and flame retardant on the fire on each pass.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said no more firefighting planes from abroad were needed, acting on the advice of professional fire-fighters, and thanked the many nations which contributed. Assistance came quickly, with at least 16 nations offering aircraft, personnel or materiel.
The fire ravaged at least 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of land and five million trees in pine-covered hills known locally as "little Switzerland." With the balance swinging, meteorologists said rain was expected within 24 hours.
In an act of solidarity, ministers held their weekly cabinet meeting in the Haifa suburb of Tirat HaCarmel, where some residents were evacuated from the path of the flames. They opened the session with a minute's silence for victims of the fire, as Netanyahu pledged compensation for the injured and homes lost.
The fire, centred on the Carmel hill range, just south and east of Haifa, claimed 41 lives and forced more than 17,000 people to flee their homes. It was the largest inferno in Israel's 62-year history.
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