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The scent of charred wood hung heavy in the air, though the flames had been extinguished days earlier. Skeletons of trees loomed over the ash-whitened hillside, some still emitting wisps of smoke as they smoldered. Canada Park, once a haven for hikers and cyclists, lay empty and desolate early Sunday afternoon in wake of the wildfires that devastated central Israel last week. The woodland park, one of the hardest-hit sites during the blazes that tore through the hills west of Jerusalem on Wednesday and Thursday, will take decades to recover, said its chief caretaker at the KKL-JNF Jewish National Fund. "It was a gem. It was heaven on earth that was burned," lamented Nitai Zakharia, the park's head forester. Jerusalem's marathon 'sleep-in' protestKeep Watching Zakharia, who has managed the park for seven years as a KKL field director, looked despondent as he surveyed what remained of the forest in his pickup truck that day, passing large swaths of ashen ground where bushes and trees once stood. Canada Park, also known as Ayalon-Canada Park, stretches across some 12,000 dunams (3,000 acres) in the Judean foothills. Located in the West Bank just over the Green Line, the park attracted 2-3 million visitors each year. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories Newsletter email address That is, until the fires came. According to Zakharia's rough estimate, the blaze torched around 70 percent of the park's flora, covering some 8,000 dunams (2,000 acres). Canada Park, a KKL-JNF national park in the Judean foothills, a week after it was badly damaged by brush fires on April 30, 2025, photo taken May 4, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel) According to official estimates, at least 20,000 dunams (5,000 acres) burned across the area of the Jerusalem hills, devastating forests, though there was only minimal property damage and only a handful of minor injuries. Firefighters managed to bring the blazes under control by Thursday, but many were still working overtime as of Sunday to combat sudden flare-ups that threatened to reignite conflagrations. As he drove, Zakharia's walkie-talkie chattered with reports of small fires breaking out. Flames were kicking back up in Kula Forest, near Elad, which also falls under his purview. In Canada Park, several tree trunks were burning idly Sunday afternoon, producing small flames and billows of smoke three full days after firefighters managed to contain the outbreak. Canada Park, a KKL-JNF national park in the Judean foothills, a week after it was badly damaged by brush fires on April 30, 2025, video taken May 4, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel) Pointing to leaves that had turned orange-red, Zakharia somberly noted that many of the trees that weren't burnt to a crisp had still sustained irreparable heat damage and would likely die in the coming weeks. 'Farewell to the park' In years past, Canada Park had seen small brush fires that spread across two to three dunams before being quickly extinguished by KKL's own firefighting division. "We weren't deluding ourselves," Zakharia said. "It was clear to us that we were sitting on natural resources that were liable to burn, but we never expected a fire like this." Advertisement Nitai Zakharia, the head forester of Canada Park, shows a damaged pomegranate tree at the nature site on May 4, 2025. (Charlie Summers/Times of Israel) At 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, as Israelis marked Memorial Day, fire broke out in Eshtaol Forest, immediately south of Canada Park on the other side of Route 1, a major highway connecting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Flames were carried north by dry winds that reached 80 kilometers per hour (50 mph), and it was not long before sparks leapt across the highway into Canada Park. The staff in Zakharia's region had been spread thin that morning, helping fight fires near Elad and Eshtaol, leaving Canada Park largely undefended. While on his way to the park around noon, Zakharia telephoned a colleague responsible for Eshtaol. "I told him: 'Look, Yaakov, make sure you have tons of forces on the border so that it doesn't pass over Route 1 toward us.' He told me that they had 10 fire engines ready to extinguish the fire," he said. By the time he reached Canada Park, flames had already begun to engulf its trees. View of a large fire that broke out near Moshav Eshtaol, April 23, 2025. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90 | 
