People have withdrawn from a campus of Haifa University, the Druze village of Usfiya, a few nearby Kibbutz and a spa resort, so far.

A massive forest fire is seen in the Carmel Forest near the Israeli northern city of Haifa, Dec. 2, 2010. At least 40 people are dead in what officials describe as a historic "firestorm" that broke out early Thursday in the Carmel mountain range overlooking the city. [JINI/Xinhua]

"The feeling is traumatic. There's lots of hysteria in the streets. From our window, we can see the illumination flares that are fired into the sky (to assist the rescue teams). It feels like war," Adi, a student of Haifa University, said during a phone interview.

The Kibbutz Beit Oren, which is among the first places evacuated, has been completely destroyed by the fire. Other towns and resort hotels in the area may be next in line if firefighters don't succeed in gaining control of the flames, officials warned.

The Israeli Nature and Parks Authority is working to evacuate wildlife at a nature preserve under fire.

The Israeli Health Ministry is instructing residents in the area not immediately threatened by the flames to stay inside due to the smoke and possible poisonous chemicals.

Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav is at the fire crews' field headquarters, monitoring the progress of the flames to evaluate if any areas of Israel's third largest city will require evacuation.

Yahav told Army Radio that dozens of lookouts have been posted on the outskirts of Haifa, which lies immediately northward of the blaze.

Fire Brigade officials said during the afternoon that they had not yet ascertained the cause of the blaze. The area engulfed by flames contains dry brush which burns easily, and the unusually warm, dry windy weather likely played a role in fanning the flames.

However, officials later in the evening said there were three major areas where the fire seemed to have began, according to Channel Two television. There was some speculation that the fires were set intentionally, according to Israel Police Spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld.

"We cannot rule out the possibility of arson at this stage," Rosenfeld told Xinhua, adding that there are three avenues of investigation. Such a police inquiry usually implies accidental, criminal and nationalistic motives.

A police source told Ynet, as well, that they are investigating the possibility that a private dump in Usfiya may have been burning trash earlier in the day.

Referring to the dump, Yahav said, "it was just a matter of time until a disaster occurred."

Israel has coped with several large fires in the last several months, but they were in rural areas, with few if any victims. This is the first time the country deals with a natural disaster with so many casualties, of this size and scope, and so close to a major urban area.