Smoke On The Water

(photo courtesy of Saul Traiger)

I ferried over to Avalon on Santa Catalina Island today to enjoy some SCUBA diving at the Casino Point Dive Park.

Normally, the Island is a refuge from any smog or 'haze' from the mainland, but today was another situation. Vast walls of smoke shading from beige to brown to near black reached out towards the island like the tentacles of an octopus. The ferry out seemed to be traveling in its own bubble of clearer air through a sea of smoke.

In Avalon the winds were slight, but coming from the direction of the mainland, and brought with them a haze of smoke that hung over the beautiful harbor and collected against the surrounding hills.

The island city had its own brush with catastrophic fire in 2007, with encircling walls of flame at one point threatening the residents. The devastation was distant today, communicated by the smoke from the mainland fires, a reminder of bad things possible even in paradise.

Underwater it was peaceful and serene, with good visibility...