No, it looks like one, but it's just Santa Catalina burning. Catalina is mostly brush and trees and you know what happens in California when that kind of vegetation catches fire. It is (was?) a beautiful place. Avalon and Two Harbors are the only towns and they are quite small. Avalon, the larger of the two is one square mile. Ten blocks by ten blocks, and the fires were just outside of town last night. This morning, it was completely evacuated.

Under private ownership for decades, Catalina has been left pretty much in a natural state. The Wrigley family has built some impressive buildings such as the round "Casino"* on the waterfront. There are beautiful multi-million dollar homes, and million-dollar cottages. On Catalina, you may own a house, but not the land under it.

They have a beautiful harbor with water so clean you can swim in it. They claim that they have the warmest water of any beach in the state.

There are famous old hotels where movie stars vacationed 50, 60, and 70 years ago. We stayed in one that was billed as Clark Gable's favorite. It was a wood frame building as most buildings are in Avalon.

Wild buffalo roam all over Catalina, left there when a wild west movie was shot there in the 1930's. I worry about the buffalo and the horses on a beautiful old ranch. I think the stable was one of the buildings I saw burning on TV today.

I've been to Catalina three times, but not in about 10 years. I was looking forward to going again soon.
Howard
*The Casino is not what you would expect. There is no drinking or gambling allowed, but dancing and movies are OK. I think the Wrigleys allowed gum chewing, too.