'Idyllic' Avalon survives raging island blaze

The second major brush fire to hit southern California in a week raged through the island of Catalina off Los Angeles yesterday, scorching hundreds of acres and threatening the edges of the island's only major population centre, the city of Avalon.

The fire, which started in the untamed hills in the centre of the island, spread with devastating speed thanks to hot temperatures, brisk winds and bone-dry conditions created by a winter with almost no rainfall.

For several hours firefighters feared a repeat of a devastating fire in 1915 which destroyed Avalon and triggered the sale of the island to the chewing-gum producing Wrigley family, whose successors still own Catalina. These days the island is a popular yachting destination. It also attracts hikers and bird-watchers - 88 per cent of the island is protected wilderness.

Most of the island's 3,000 residents were evacuated on ferry boats shuttling to and from the mainland all night. Many grabbed their most precious possessions. A handful had time to hose down their houses before they left.

In the end, though, the weather changed just in time, and, under a blanket of marine fog and cooler temperatures, firefighters managed to keep the flames away from Avalon. Just one home was destroyed - belonging to the Catalina Island Company's marketing manager.

"It's so surreal, it's really tough to expect that to happen," a shocked Brad Wilson told reporters. "This is such an idyllic community." Several other buildings were damaged, but the bulk of the town escaped unscathed.

In the hills stretching towards Catalina's one-strip airport and the town of Two Harbors, it was a different story. Firefighters said they had barely begun to contain the blaze almost 24 hours after it started. Two Harbors lost its electricity and water supply.

Earlier in the week, a very similar high-speed fire broke out in Griffith Park, one of the biggest parkland areas in Los Angeles which is home to the city's observatory and zoo as well as the emblematic Hollywood sign. That fire, too, was contained without causing significant damage to human property.

The biggest effect of the Catalina blaze will be on tourism, the island's sole source of revenue. All tourist boats have been cancelled for the time being and they are not likely to resume until early next week.