A massive bush fire raging in northern Israel for nearly 72 hours was at its most stable since it broke out, firefighting officials said early Sunday while also warning against excessive optimism, dpa reported.
"We find ourselves in the best situation since the fire started," Fire Services head Shimon Romah told Israel Army Radio hours before dawn.
Other officials added, however, that winds that have hampered efforts to contain the blaze had picked up overnight and could spread the flames in new directions.
The fire broke out shortly before noon Thursday on Carmel hill, south-east of Haifa. By Saturday night, it had claimed 41 lives; devastated 50 square kilometres of parched, drought-stricken land; destroyed 5 million trees; and forced 17,000 people to flee their homes.
By early Sunday, the blaze was concentrated in four main locations, and more than 30 firefighting aircraft were taking to the skies to fight it.
Among them was the Super Tanker, which is able to carry 80,000 litres of water and arrived in Israel late Saturday.
Officials said they hoped the aircraft, aided by firefighting teams on the ground, could bring the blaze under control later Sunday.
"Our assessment is that we will be able to put out the worst of the fire by Sunday afternoon with 33 planes that will be here from around the world," a senior Israel Air Force officer was quoted as saying in the Jerusalem Post newspaper.