UPDATE: (May 11, 2007) Catalina Fire Pictures Here.
Firefighters responding to a brush fire on Catalina Island get a lift from the US Marine Corps:
Firefighters struggle with Catalina Island brush fire
A stubborn lightning-sparked brush fire that has charred hundreds of acres since Saturday night on Catalina Island was 50 percent contained Monday, but authorities said full containment will not come today as crews had hoped.
Full containment is now expected sometime Thursday, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Sam Padilla.
Lightning ignited two fires in the central part of the 76-square-mile island shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday, Padilla said. One of those fires was contained a short time later at about 130 acres.
[. . .]
Marines from Camp Pendleton ferried Los Angeles County firefighters to the island in four hovercraft Sunday to assist the Avalon Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department Supervisor Ed Pickett said.
The hovercraft were used because severe lightning made helicopter travel dangerous.
This is another example of how versatile and vital our military is to our nation.