A roaring fire fueled by winds and dry brush burned a path through Santa Catalina Island and reached the edges of Avalon on Thursday night, prompting an urgent evacuation of hundreds of island residents and tourists.
At least 10 structures and more than 4,000 acres had burned by 10:40 p.m. despite an aerial and ground assault by firefighters that included crews shipped onto the island on military hovercraft and helicopters from Camp Pendleton.
A small armada of ferries loaded hundreds of people at Avalon Harbor and took them more than 20 miles to San Pedro and Long Beach, where shelters were set up.
Avalon residents who stayed in the historic resort town suffered widespread power outages and a loss of water supply. Those who could hosed down their roofs and anxiously watched the 30- to 40-foot flames push toward the city.
"These houses are so close together it won't take much for the fire to jump from one to another," said Joseph Hernandez, 44, a quarry worker who was spraying water on his roof just before 8 p.m. "So wherever this hose reaches, that's where I'm watering. And if the fire reaches town, I'm going to the quarry because rocks don't burn."
Minutes later, the fire made another advance toward town, with enormous flames roaring near the high school and cemetery in a neighborhood with many vintage wood-frame and stucco homes. Fire officials said several homes and businesses were among the buildings lost.
"This is it," said resident Terri Hernandez. "It's on its way now."
Assistant City Manager Pete Woolson gave a bleak appraisal after driving through smoke-choked Avalon: "I hope they can hold it off."
Several hundred people gathered near the town port, waiting to be evacuated. Many had backpacks and suitcases bulging with belongings.
"I've lived here 53 years and I've never seen anything like this in my life," said Michael Mead, manager of Island Rentals. "It's pretty scary. This happened 100 years ago, and it's happening again. You can see the flames now coming over the ridge into town. It's horrible."
It was the second major fire to hit a parched Southern California this week and comes as the region is experiencing the driest year on record. A fire engulfed Griffith Park on Tuesday, destroying about a quarter of the hilly urban refuge before being brought under control Wednesday night.
