The fire began at about 11:00 local time on 2 December 2010, and spread quickly, consuming much of the Mediterranean forest covering the region.

[6] More than 17,000 people were evacuated, including several villages in the vicinity of the fire, and there was considerable property and environmental damage.

Israel had been experiencing an unusually warm autumn and dry conditions;[16] previous spring and summer months were also exceptionally hot.

It was originally speculated that the fire was caused by the burning of an illegal garbage dump and spread due to the dry conditions and strong winds.

[3] Israel Police suggested that the fire was caused due to a bonfire that was lit by local residents and not extinguished properly and in time.

[10] On 4 December, police arrested two adolescent brothers from the Druze town of Isfiya on suspicion of having caused the fire through negligence.

The teen told investigators that after smoking a nargila, he threw a lit coal into an open area and was so shocked by the result that he returned to school without telling anyone what he had done.

MKs Ya'akov Katz and Michael Ben-Ari also cited the possibility that the fire was an act of terrorism and called for an investigation.

[3] Several Police officers and a number of firefighters who were behind the bus were also injured and some were killed,[5][7] including Commander Ahuva Tomer, head of the Haifa police station and the first woman to hold such a major command; Tomer suffered severe burns and died in hospital on December 6.

[25] According to Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich, after the vehicle caught fire, the driver was injured and lost control.

The back door would not open due to the extreme heat but was eventually broken through, enabling some cadets to flee the burning bus; however, those who fled encountered the intense blaze outside.

[38][39][40] Countries that offered help include Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia,[41] Cyprus, France,[42] Jordan, Romania, Spain[43][44] with four seaplanes and the United Kingdom who sent two Royal Air Force helicopters.

[35] At a Security Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu thanked Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan (and others) for their offer to help, saying he "hopes this will be the beginning of better relations between our two countries".

[43] Omri Bone, the Northern Region Director of the Jewish National Fund, estimated that 1.5 million trees burnt in the fire.

[7] In the days following the outbreak of the blaze, other fires erupted sporadically far from the main site, causing police to raise its alert level nationwide.

Police Insp.-Gen. David Cohen stated at a press conference on 3 December that "there have been a number of arson attacks in the northern district".

[10] Police sources estimated that arsonists were attempting to distract forces dealing with the Carmel fire by producing additional emergency events.

[56] A fire broke out in the Tzur Shalom industrial zone in Kiryat Bialik, forcing the evacuation of a nearby factory.

[10] A fire erupted near the northern Bedouin village of Basmat Tab'un, causing no reported injuries or damage.

After hikers nearby reported two suspects fleeing from the area where the fire started, police were treating the incident as arson and opened an investigation.

[7] The Jerusalem Post stated in an editorial that although perhaps the only positive development of the disaster had been "the tremendous outpouring of international aid, including from the Muslim world,"[56] several copy-cat fires were later carried out by Arab Israeli terrorists.

[63] The President of the United States, Barack Obama, offered his condolences: "Our thoughts and prayers are with everybody in Israel who is affected by this tragedy and the family and loved ones of those in harm's way.

[65] Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, William Hague, posted a message on Twitter saying "[I offer] condolences to the families of those killed in forest fires in Israel.

Qatar-controlled Al-Jazeera pointed out that "Israel failed to contain the fire", and that it was necessary for the state to plead for international help in order to bring the blaze under control.

[67] Various officials in European countries such as Greece, Italy and Germany reportedly also expressed their surprise at Israel's apparent helplessness.

The enormous blaze that broke out on the Carmel proved that Israel is not prepared for war or a mass terrorist strike that would cause many casualties in the home front.