More than 100 fire crews were fighting massive blazes in the area of the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Shemesh on Thursday morning.

The fires began on Wednesday, as scorching temperatures and high winds sparked intense brushfires in the Mateh Yehuda region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fire Commissioner Eyal Caspi, and Police Commissioner Danny Levy held a situational assessment on Wednesday evening to allocate additional resources for extinguishing the blazes.

Jerusalem District fire crews are being supported by Samson fire-extinguishing planes, special firefighting helicopters, along with additional crews from Israel’s northern district and KKL-The Jewish National Fund.

Overnight, the Samson aircraft dropped large quantities of fire retardant throughout wooded areas in the Mateh Yehuda region, attempting to stop the blazes from spreading.

Six firefighting planes are continuing to circle the area, providing support to firefighting crews on the ground.

Multiple communities in the area, along with critical roads, were evacuated on Wednesday due to concerns that the blazes could threaten human life.

Late Wednesday evening, the road were re-opened and residents of Eshtaol, Beit Meir, and Mesilat Zion were able to return to their homes.

Train and bus services in the area, which had been paused on Wednesday, also resumed on Thursday morning.

Officials estimate that some 10,000 dunams (2,471 acres) of land have burned so far, Mako reported.

Several firefighters, a policewoman, and two civilians were said to have been lightly injured in the fires.

Authorities believe that the origin of the fire was natural, and do not suspect it was caused by arson.

The major wildfire comes on the heels of the Third Lebanon war, which saw tens of thousands of acres burned in northern Israel.

Near-daily rocket, missile, and explosive drone attacks saw much of Israel’s most pristine green forests scorched by Hezbollah aggression.