I was going to post something on a different subject, then I heard just now on Pasadena public radio station KPCC that the wildfire, which has already caused many residents and visitors to evacuate, is threatening the small town of Avalon. The radio station also has a link up to a webcam.

I haven’t been there since I was a child, but it’s a place that’s kind of special to me. I remember it as sweet, small town with lots of great retro architecture, ski ball machines, and clean air. I hope the winds spare as much of the place as possible.

UPDATE: Extremely thorough readers will still probably NOT notice that I’ve deleted a line or two of the above. Nothing important or relevant, just a mild case of blog OCD, I assure you. What is relevant is that the now-delightfully coolish weather in Southern California seems to be helping firefighters defeat the blaze and things are apparently returning to normal on the island. At least, that’s what the AP says, and the Catalina webcam screen capture below seems to back that view up. Sure looks pretty.