Tens of thousands of Israelis have fled fires: 32,000 acres have been burnt, along with hundreds of homes and businesses. November has been very dry, with strong winds. Forest fires of similar magnitude, or worse, have recently been raging every year throughout the Mediterranean basin. Professor Carmel (of environmental, water and agricultural engineering) said, ‘Climate change is causing things we haven’t seen before.’ Russian, Palestinian and American first-responders are helping Israeli fire-fighters. In the USA many months of drought brought weeks of wildfires in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, destroying hundreds of homes and sending thousands through ‘hell-like’ escapes. 4,000 firefighters were deployed to extinguish dozens of large fires all burning at the same time. Yesterday, winds of 70 mph intensified multiple fires in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, and fires are spreading into communities and knocking down power lines. See also http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.755665