Israel's firefighters put out 220 fires amid extreme heat wave

JERUSALEM, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Fire crews on Friday overcame 220 fire incidents in open areas across Israel due to an extreme heat wave that hit the country, with no serious casualties reported, according to the country's National Fire and Rescue Authority.

In several places in central and southern Israel, the temperature exceeded 43 degrees Celsius, breaking all-time records for June, showed data from the Israel Meteorological Service.

In preparation for the heat wave, the fire authority issued an order prohibiting the lighting of fires throughout the country on Friday between 8 a.m. and midnight.

The Israel Electric Corporation, an energy company, reported it had to carry out proactive power outages across the country due to peak electricity demands, fires that damaged infrastructure, and electricity breakdowns caused by abnormal loads.