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The fire has burned 4,200 acres burned. It is now 35% contained, and officials expect full containment by Tuesday. Mayor Robert Kennedy praised the efforts of the Navy, the L.A. County Fire Department and the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. "Without that response we wouldn't be standing in front of you today," he said.
Seven hundred people from various agencies are fighting the fire.
County Supervisor Don Knabe praised the assistance. "The good Lord willing, the weather holds, and the wind stays down, we're in pretty good shape," said Knabe.
-Seema Mehta in Avalon
Evacuees who spent last night at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach will begin returning to Avalon this evening, according to the American Red Cross.
Most businesses on the island were closed Friday, including souvenir, ice cream and tee shirt shops. Only a few stayed open to serve emergency personnel, some offering their wares for half-price or free. Those still open became places for people to gather and share their stories.
Pamela Miller, owner of C.C. Gallagher, an espresso bar and gallery, was coordinating with about a half- dozen restaurants on the mainland, which donated as much food as they could gather to feed firefighters coming off the lines. "We were just getting as much food as quick as they could." Like many businessowners, many of Miller's employees couldn’t work because they’d been evacuated. Several volunteers stepped in to help out. "We’re extremely concerned about making sure we can do whatever needed for the firemen….as long as we have enough people to stay open, we’ll stay open."
-Susanna Rosenblatt
As the Catalina fire tore through dry chaparral toward Avalon on Thursday, it came as no surprise that some residents were talking about goats.
Thousands of free-running goats have been killed or removed from the island since the early 1990s as part of the Catalina Island Conservancy's efforts to restore the island to its natural state. The wild goats, descendants of farm animals imported by early settlers, were prolific grazers that consumed native chaparral and scrub plants and left hillsides barren of vegetation. A goat-free island would allow native plants and animals to rebound, said officials with the conservancy, which manages 88% of the largely uninhabited island. But on Thursday night, one island old-timer waxed nostalgic for the old days of well-grazed terrain. (More below)
-Deborah Schoch
Continue reading "Would goats have helped?" »
As Griffith Park begins its recovery, city officials are debating the timetable for reopening sections of the flame-ravaged park. As of Friday, the process seemed a little confused. City Councilman Tom LaBonge and city recreation and parks chief Jon Murki, within five minutes of each other, offered differing estimates of what would be open this weekend.
LaBonge, speaking at a news conference with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, said that the zoo and the park's iconic merry-go-round would both be open to the public on Saturday. Murki, who attended the same conference but didn't speak publicly, later said that merry-go-round definitely wouldn't be open, and the zoo was unlikely.
-Ashraf Khalil
Continue reading "Meanwhile, at Griffith Park..." »
Here are the latest developments in the fire at South Lake Tahoe:
--2,000 acres burned
--240 structures destroyed
--No injuries reported
--Much of South Lake Tahoe evacuated
Smoke from the Catalina wildfire is creating unhealthy air conditions on the island and for those on boats nearby, air regulators said today.
People with asthma and heart or lung disease should minimize outdoor activity. If conditions grow worse, sensitive people should avoid outdoor activity completely, and everyone in the area is advised to discontinue prolonged, vigorous outdoor exercise lasting more than an hour, said South Coast Air Quality Management spokesman Sam Atwood, who said updates would continue as necessary.
Particulate matter in wildfire smoke can be harmful to lungs and respiratory systems.
-Janet Wilson
Tonya Saleda, 42, was operating on just three hours of sleep as she returned home to Avalon with her 7-year-old daughter, Emily, who has asthma, husband Jim and their dog, Honey.
"It was pretty wild. ... It looked like it was snowing, there was so much ash," said Saleda, who manages a hotel on the Catalina waterfront.
She described streets filled with people carrying their pets to safety and covering their faces to protect against the smoke. Saleda grabbed a backpack and small suitcase crammed with clothes, birth certificates and Emily's stuffed baby hedgehog.
Judee Myers, 61, and her husband Rick, a 62-year-old doctor, both from Sacramento, had to cut their honeymoon short when they were evacuated from their waterfront hotel. "It was like Dunkirk," said Rick Myers of the evacuation from Avalon, referencing the Allied flotilla that evacuated troops from mainland Europe as the Nazis advanced.
His wife's escape plan was for them to jump out of their hotel room window into the ocean. He had other ideas.
"We've got the bar and we've got the water," he said, adding that he opted to "have another cocktail."
-Susannah Rosenblatt
Some tourists who decided to stay put Thursday night were giving up today and heading for the ferry back to the mainland.
A couple, who gave only their first names, Maciej and Anna, were with their two small children and had intended to stay until Sunday as part of a five-day trip. "Everybody left yesterday in a panic," they said. They decided to wait it out. But this morning, they said the situation was "still unclear" and there was "too much uncertainty" to remain. They were headed for the 12:30 p.m. ferry to San Pedro.
Pat Damiano, who arrived Wednesday from Palm Springs, was also walking toward the ferry with her chihuahua, cutting her trip short as well. Initially, she figured she could run into the water. "We'd be cold, but OK," she said. But when the flames crossed through the mountain last night, she said it was time to go. Firefighters "were doing such a good job," she said, "but no one slept."
-Seema Mehta in Avalon
Avalon Mayor Bob Kennedy said there were more deer than people on Avalon's streets Thursday night, driven from their habitat by the raging fire. Displaced, they wandered through town. There are large numbers of deer on the island, Kennedy said.
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
Tourists Keith Topping and his wife Sheela, from Ojai, arrived on the island Thursday and have no plans to leave early because of the fire. They're scheduled to leave Saturday.
"I’d see hot spots," Topping said. "They would quickly get to them with helicopters. We didn’t get afraid for some reason. I didn't have sense enough. I guess we saw it as an adventure."
Catalina Island Vacation Rentals had 46 arrivals scheduled for today but they were all canceled. In the offices in downtown Avalon, the phones were ringing off the hook as staffers fielded calls from landlords wanting to make sure their properties were OK.
Denny Honsey, general manager of Catalina Island Vacation Rentals, said: "We still had some people who said, 'We still want to come,' but I had to tell them, 'You can't come here.'"
Company president Kevin Strege sent his wife and kids to the mainland to escape the blaze.
"I’ve seen fires before but never getting close to town."
-Seema Mehta in Avalon
A tour of 41 elementary students from Phoenix were swimming off Catalina Thursday when they were told they needed to evacuate. They left in flip flops, bathing suits and whatever they had brought to cover their suits.
Lyn Bailey, the school's assistant superintendent, said the students and six teachers from Arroyo Elementary School were taking an end-of-the-year trip to the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina. The school has been sending classes there for the last six years. Until they were evacuated, the students were looking for marine species in their natural habitat, as well as swimming and snorkeling. For some students, it was their first trip out of the state.
They were first evacuated to Fox Landing, where the group thought it was going to stay for the night. But at 2 a.m. Catalina fire officials told them they needed to leave the island.
The teachers gathered up the children and led them to the ferry. They arrived Cabrillo High School in Long Beach shortly before 4 a.m. and were quickly ushered to cots, where they could sleep. By morning, Long Beach residents brought donated clothes to the students so they wouldn't have to wear their swimsuits on the ride home.
The students left by bus this morning and are expected in Phoenix at 4 p.m.
School officials expressed thanks to officials for taking care of the students. "We always knew California was a good neighbor," Bailey said.
-Ashley Powers
Avalon Mayor Bob Kennedy emerged from a meeting with officials who assessed the damage and said the evacuation had ended.
"We expect sometime this afternoon to lift the evacuation notices and allow residents who left the island to return to their homes. However, we’re discouraging visitors to come to the island. We’re not saying they can’t, but there will be limited restaurant access and many hotel rooms will be occupied by firefighters fighting the fire in the interior of the island. Cross-channel traffic is also expected to resume this afternoon."
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
Earl Schrader, 55, who owns a real estate firm on Catalina, spent Thursday night at his office with his seven cats after being evacuated from his home. This morning, he was cleaning the windows of ash and preparing to catch up on paperwork. Residents aren't going to leave, he said. "Even if we're told to leave, we're not going to," Schrader said.
Donna Harris and Dave Smith have lived in Catalina since January after moving from Arizona. Smith, who used to work at the fire lookout in Glacier National Park in Montana, was fascinated by the fire. "This is quite a show," he said. "I've never seen anything quite like this."
People were pulling together, the couple said. For example, one neighbor, a butcher, was driving around in his golf cart every few hours, giving updates.
"Everybody knows everybody, everybody knows everybody's kids, everybody's had to pull together," Smith said.
-Seema Mehta in Avalon
After spending all night and most of yesterday on the fire lines, Avalon Mayor Bob Kennedy, a volunteer firefighter, returned to town this morning for a critical 10:15 briefing that will determine one of the most pressing questions of the morning: whether to resume cross-channel tourist traffic as early as today.
Kennedy began his work on the fire lines Thursday at the "point of origin of this fire, KBRT Radio station tower about seven miles west of Avalon."
There, he said, "I was manning Engine No. 2, putting water on hot stuff."
"Initially," he said, "I thought we were going to lose our community. But proper training and deployment limited our losses to one residential unit and eight or nine warehouse-type structures." The warehouses were located at a wildlands interface area known as Falls Canyon.
The fire, he said, was about 30% contained as of 9:30 a.m.
He said he was looking forward to a series of important meetings and then "a cold beer and a nice dinner and bed."
Kennedy, looking exhausted and seriously sunburned, said the Avalon Fire Department was back to normal operations this morning and "our focus now is on an interior attack and mopping up a few hot spots at the edges of town."
Looking back, he said, "We stopped the fire at Falls Canyon with a lot of hard work and ballsy moves."
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
Katie Wrighton and Kurt Edwards were keeping their fingers crossed that their wedding in Catalina could still go off as planned Saturday on a grassy patch in Descanso Beach. But just in case, they'd loaded the flowers, decorations and wedding dress into Katie's parents' boat, in case they have to move to Newport Beach.
The groom's family arrived at their hotel Thursday but had to be evacuated hours later. They moved into the bride's family's condo and had a party on the balcony Thursday night while watching the fire burn.
Half of the 75 guests are on the island already, and half are still on the mainland with their attendance somewhat in doubt.
"It's pretty scary and we have a wedding to think of," said the bride's mother, Char Wrighton, who lives in Yosemite much of the year. "We're going to go for it."
She and husband Bill said the locals don't want to leave. "When it's your home, you're the last to leave," she said.
Bride Katie Wrighton, 19, didn't sleep at all Thursday night, watching the fire through the sliding glass. But groom Kurt Edwards slept like a log. After working for two years as a hot shot with the U.S. Forest Service, he's used to fires.
-Seema Mehta in Avalon
Long Beach exterminator Steven Griffith, 42, was waiting at Catalina Express pier in downtown Long Beach hoping to help out evacuees. A former resident of Catalina, he said he took the day off to offer temporary lodging to evacuees. "I’ve got a roof over my head, I'm grateful for that. I’m thinking two or three people, if they need help, could spend the night."
One of the few people heading toward Catalina was Tommy Duong, 36, who was trying to get to his job at Mr. Ming’s, a Chinese restaurant, which he said was one of the few businesses open on the island. "A lot of businesses are closing down, except for us," he said his colleagues had told him. "The restaurant is located near a popular hotel and many people need to eat."
Duong lives part-time near Alhambra in the San Gabriel Valley. He and other workers sometimes stay at a house in Avalon with their boss, which his colleagues have told him is "full of smoke." "It’s very terrible, it’s very bad, a lot of businesses are closing down, except us. The restaurant is located near a popular hotel, and many people need to eat," he said.
"It’s actually a very nice place – Avalon – it’s all ashes," Duong said.
-Susannah Rosenblatt
As of 9 a.m., about 90 people were still at the Red Cross overnight shelter at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach. Some 138 people had stayed overnight, but middle school students from Phoenix who had been evacuated from their science camp left for home by charter bus early this morning.
The remaining evacuees were given breakfast, which included oatmeal, cereal and cereal bars. At 8:45 a.m., to the delight of many, towels arrived so evacuees could take showers.
Nurses and paramedics from the Long Beach Fire Department were on hand throughout the morning in case evacuees had health problems, which were mostly the result of pre-existing conditions rather than smoke.
Red Cross workers were told that if the fire continues at its current clip, they should expect more evacuees this afternoon. The high school gym is reserved throughout the weekend just in case. Gym classes are canceled.
-Ashley Powers
The only home lost in the fire belonged to Brad Wilson and his family. The 1933 beach bungalow where they lived for 2 1/2 years was located in an area called Quail Canyon. It was owned by the Santa Catalina Island Company, one of the primary tour operators on the island.
Wilson is the chief marketing officer for the company. He and his wife and two children, their dog and two geckos were evacuated Thursday afternoon; they spent the night at a friend's house.
"We grabbed what we thought was important," Wilson said. "In hindsight, we would have taken a lot more. It's so surreal, it's really tough to expect that to happen. This is such an idyllic community."
He said they grabbed photos, passports, tax information and "not near enough clothes."
"I'm sure this will work out. This is a close-knit community."
-Amanda Covarrubias
Josh Olsen, 23, a fourth-generation Avalon resident with bleached, spiked hair, had his work cut out for him this morning lugging back home "the important stuff I saved last night: two skateboards and three guitars including a vintage '70s Rickenbacker, once owned by Warren Zevon," a rock musician and songwriter who was known for his dark and sometimes humorous songs.
Still missing was his albino corn snake "which I think is loose in the house somewhere." Looking back, he shook his head and said, "It was kind of a trip, man. Awesome."
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
George Scott, 67, a former mayor of Avalon and a 40-year resident of Catalina, was waiting this morning at Catalina Landing in downtown Long Beach with his daughter Autumn Scott, 40, for a ride back to the island. He had been evacuated from the hospital in Avalon, where he was being treated for a diabetes-related heart condition.
He was intially evacuated to safer ground at City Hall; then his daughter moved him to a friend's house on the other side of the island. Still, she didn't feel safe, so they took a ferry to Long Beach and spent Thursday night in a hotel, along with their black-and-white cat, Santa Claus.
"The flames were so bad, we got so scared," George Scott said.
Autumn Scott said she could see the flames from her friend's house.
"You could see the flames on the hillside," she said. "It just didn’t feel safe. It was really hard to get information in the midst of it. I couldn’t get any information except for what I could see with my own two eyes."
She was eager to get her father back to the hospital quickly.
"He’s also in a wheelchair and is very feeble. I basically didn’t want him to be hurt. I am so happy it didn’t burn our house down."
-Susannah Rosenblatt
 With the fire at bay this morning, hotel and restaurant owners and small-shop operators were turning their attention to the economic impact on what should have been a profitable Mother's Day weekend in Avalon.
"We have people who made reservations many months ago. We’re telling them they can’t get here," said Caroline Alderdice of the Catalina visitors' center. "There’s no fire danger in town, but the air is full of smoke."
Elsewhere on the island, there were reports that the second-largest tourist center, Two Harbors, was without power or telephone service because the fire in the interior of the island had disrupted power lines.
"I understand the fire is everywhere between here and the airport 10 miles to the west," said Catalina Chamber of Commerce President Wayne Griffin, who was in his office struggling to keep up with non-stop telephone calls from people trying to get information.
With regard to the loss of business, he said: "It’s not the Fourth of July, but it's an important weekend for us. We had a fabulous March and a good April, and we’re enthusiastic about the upcoming season. This will put a hiccup in things. But my guess is that by the end of next week, we’ll be back to normal."
Normal in Catalina means revenues of about $96 million a year from cross-channel carriers and $10.5 million a year from cruise ship passengers.
"Tourism is our only source of revenue. It’s all we’ve got," Griffin said.
"This is a time for straight talk: This is not a place for visitors today."
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
Jose Vazquez, 35, and Guillermo Hernandez, 39, construction workers on the island, stood outside City Hall this morning with their sons. They had spent the night at St. Catherine's Catholic Church, which holds Mass in Spanish for the considerable Spanish-speaking population.
"You’re going to see a lot of businesses closed," Vazquez said, "because so many people went across to the [mainland]. I don’t think they will be able to go out to eat."
He said Mexicans are vital to the local tourist industry.
"For every business you see three Americans, the rest are Mexican."
The friends work for Fine Line Construction, which employs 40 people, most of them Mexican immigrants. The entire company office and warehouse in Bird Canyon burned down Thursday night, including wood, trucks, equipment and other material, said Mark Alft, supervisor at Fine Line.
-Sam Quinones in Avalon
At Luau Larry’s, a bamboo and wicker watering hole at Avalon Harbor, a dozen people who had spent the night in sleeping bags under decorative neon signs were rolling up their bags this morning and venturing out to assess the damage.
Manager Alex Villagra, 38, opened up the bar Thursday night for anyone who needed a place to crash and made cold sandwiches for the hungry and tired.
"Usually on the island, we don’t talk about fire," Villagra said. "But all people wanted to know last night was this: Is the fire going to hit town or not? I said, ‘I don’t think so.’ But inside I was worried."
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
Forecasters say firefighters should catch a big break from the weather conditions not only today but in the coming days as well.
"The weather is favorable for the firefighters," said National Weather Service spokesman Bill Hoffer. "There's high relative humidity and basically no winds."
Today there will be areas of morning low clouds and fog with temperatures rising to the upper 60s at the Catalina coast and the mid-70s inland. Aided by a stationary high-pressure system, there will be light winds at Catalina not only for the rest of the day but possibly into late next week.
Low clouds and a deep marine layer are expected to shroud the island beginning in the late afternoon sending humidity levels up to at least 50%.
-Andrew Blankstein
Greg Bombard, president of Catalina Express, said his eight high-speed ferries, which depart from San Pedro, downtown Long Beach and the Queen Mary landing, were running on schedule today, unlike last night when Catalina Express "moved as fast as we could to move people." Bombard said his ferries got 2,500 to 3,000 people off the island last night, including campers, residents and day-trippers. The ferries take about an hour to get to the island and a half hour to unload.
Bombard said the last ferry of evacuees arrived between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m., and a boatload of 88 Los Angeles County Sheriff and county fire personnel left just after 6 a.m. along with thousands of bottles of water. Another ferry with two truckloads of box lunches for emergency responders was scheduled to depart at 8:50 a.m. from San Pedro, Bombard said.
"We were asked not to bring anybody to the island that's vacationing right now until they assess what they've done overnight," Bombard said. "We'll need an all-clear before we're able to carry people over there to be able to go on about their vacation."
Bombard said he had expected a lot of business this weekend because of the beautiful spring weather. "This would have been a big weekend," Bombard said. He said it was too early to estimate what the impact on his business would be.
-Susannah Rosenblatt
Fergie Ferguson, 77, refused to leave his Avalon home last night. He was up all night and morning monitoring the flames. "It was a long night. I didn't get any sleep," he said. "The flames were busting out all over."
Ferguson said he doesn't like the mainland (he used to live in Newport Beach) because it's too crowded. As the fire approached his home last night, "I figured if I had to run, OK," he said. Ferguson believes the fire would not have been so bad had Catalina kept more of the brush-eating goats on the island. "It was an accident waiting to happen," he said.
-Seema Mehta in Avalon
Jennifer Wrighton and her family stood in the early morning light at the downtown Long Beach landing of Catalina Express, surrounded by luggage but going nowhere. They arrived last night from Monterey and were planning to take the first ferry this morning to Catalina, where her sister-in-law Katie was to be married on Descanso Beach.
"We are going to find out what Plan B is. Now we're not sure," she said as her three children zoomed around the bags.
The bride has a timeshare and a boat on Catalina, so she and some other family members have been on the island all week.
"Grandma called and said, 'I don't think you'll be able to come over. There's a huge wall of fire,'" said Wrighton's son Billy, 10.
Wrighton did not know what the 75 wedding guests would do, suggesting that perhaps the Saturday celebration would move to a relative's church in Newport Beach.
"It's just not the same if you don't have a reception," Wrighton said.
-Susannah Rosenblatt
Jim Powers, Los Angeles County Fire Department assistant chief, said: "This morning Avalon fire will do a damage assessment. By 11 a.m we'll have a crystal clear idea of the damage .... I think we're very optimistic. Why? It's the fog, baby."
He said crews will be conducting a hazard assessment to check on the "wires down, rocks in the road, propane tanks that rolled off their foundations."
"That will help us establish which areas we can let residents back into," Powers said. "I think we'll make very significant inroads in knocking the fire down around Avalon. But we have a lot of work to do in the drainages and canyons."
--Louis Sahagun in Avalon
Two representatives of the Consul General of Mexico arrived at the island about midnight and set to work posting more than 100 signs on vending machines, light poles, park benches and windows that read: "If you need help from the Consul General of Mexico call 213-368-2780."
The signs were part of an attempt to help an estimated 700 to 800 undocumented Mexicans who live and work on the island. They work in Catalina's vibrant hotel, restaurant and tourist industry.
The representatives hoped to install an information table at a local church being used by evacuees. As of Friday morning there had not been many takers.
Ruben Beltran, the Mexican Consul General in Los Angeles, said by phone: "The first task of any consulate is to ensure the well-being of its citizens. So it is only natural that we extend resources to Mexicans in Catalina in this dire moment."
--Louis Sahagun in Avalon
L.A. County Fire Department Inspector Scott Ross said the weather was kind to the fire effort overnight. No winds and high humidty kept the fire from spreading, he said.
"The weather held things in check," Ross said. "Everything was pretty calm last night, and we're expecting favorable conditions today. He said about 500 firefighters were expected to be on the lines by midday. They're coming from L.A. County Fire Department, California Department of Forestry, Orange County, Long Beach and Camp Pendleton. They will be aided by five fixed-wing aircraft and 10 helicopters that will be dumping fire retardant and water on the blaze.
Ross was standing at the fire station, which is situated next to a football field, where a helicopter was landing. The town of Avalon was shrouded in ash and smoke. Ross said only a few structures burned, including at least one house. The number of people who evacuated the island varied widely, but officials estimated that 3,300 people left the island, including 300 full-time residents.
Ross said one of the main barriers to tackling the fire was getting firefighters to the scene. "We're really limited on access," he said. "We don't have enough cars and vehicles to get firefighters to the line." In addition, firefighters have to keep clear of the wildlife displaced by the fire, including snakes.
--Sam Quinones in Avalon
Marni Green, the bar manager for the Catalina Country Club, was among the few residents out at dawn. She was tooling around the town of Avalon in a golf cart.
“I just want to see how bad the damage is,” she said, surveying columns of smoke rising off the hills just north of the community. “Well, it could have been a lot worse. I'd like to hug each and every firefighter because they saved this island.”
The fire was stopped at the edge of town on the west side.
--Louis Sahagun in Avalon
Water-dropping helicopters were back this morning at daybreak.
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
The morning strategy session was led by Los Angeles County Fire Department Battalion Chief Vince Pena. The day shift action plan was encouraged by the island weather forecast for Friday, which called for low clouds and fog below 1,000 feet, which was expected to burn off by midday. Also, high humidity was expected below 800 feet and temperatures should be on the cool side, he said.
"High humidity. Low wind. Low temperatures. All definitely advantageous for us," said L.A. County Fire Department Capt. James Lile.
The firefighters are from L.A. County, the California Department of Forestry and the Avalon Fire Department, which is made up largely of volunteers, who were summoned Thursday by emergency sirens.
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
The firefighting strategy today includes keeping the fire east of Middle Ranch. Middle Ranch is at the center of the island and home for Catalina Conservancy rehabilitation efforts. They also hope to contain it west of the city of Avalon, south of Blackjack junction and north of east peak. Fire authorities are heartened by the fact that the fire did not move much over the night.There are now hundreds of firefighters who arrived overnight getting orders for the effort today on the lines.
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
Catalina residents arose to find the island at day break full of smoke and not many people out on the streets. It was very quiet, none of the usual visitor traffic, visitors not being allowed to come over on ferry boats, but there's a lot of smoke in the air.
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
At a 6 a.m. briefing this morning at the fire station in Avalon, firefighters said the 4,000 acre fire is 8% to 10% contained. Officials said the fire has not moved much over the night largely because of moisture that came in.
-Louis Sahagun in Avalon
At daybreak, Avalon was quiet. The town was covered in ash, with smoke visible but no flames. There were no signs of the frantic evacuation effort that sent hundreds of residents to the harbor late last night. Fire officials are now assessing damage.
-Sam Quinones in Avalon
Before 4 a.m., the overnight shelter population at Cabrillo High School jumped when 41 campers and six counselors arrived from Catalina Island Marine Institute. The campers were swimming when they were told to evacuate the island, Red Cross workers said, and left most of their belongings on the island. Many arrived at the high school in beach attire and donated gray hooded sweatshirts.
-Ashley Powers
The evacuation center at Cesar E. Chavez Park was emptied early in the morning when two city buses carted about 60 people boated in from Avalon to the gymnasium at Cabrillo High School in Long Beach. The Red Cross offered them pizza and chips and cots and blankets. During the next few hours, about 20 more people trickled in from the ferries.
-Ashley Powers
Cooling temperatures and calming winds have aided firefighters battling the Catalina Island blaze. The blaze appears to lay down somewhat near Avalon in the early morning hours, but fire officials said it was still roaring in the interior of the island.
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