Publication

A deadly forest fire started on Mount Carmel in northern Israel in December 2010, claiming the lives of 44 people. This brief discusses the implications of the State Comptroller's report on the fire for civilian preparedness. It argues that the Carmel fire, though exacting a heavy toll, was an isolated episode. Presumably in the future, Israel will experience worse events that will likely take higher tolls. As long as there is no fundamental transformation in the current approach to the civilian front's preparedness, which prefers to highlight progress, there will be no real change in its state of readiness argues the author.