1. Wideshot of town of Avalon showing harbour

2. Avalon houses overlooking harbour

3. Medium shot of ferry arriving

4. Wideshot of ferry docking

5. Close-up of ferry

6. Wideshot of passengers disembarking

7. Passengers walking up gangway

8. Medium shot of passengers leaving ferry

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Bruce Wright, resident

"I haven't slept in a couple of days. I'm a little worried. I'm one of the highest buildings on the hill so if the fire got anybody it got me pretty good, so I'm a little worried."

10. Close up of sign (English): 'Thank you firefighters'.

11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Bruce Wright, resident

"I've just, thank God they (firefighters) were here, an amazing group of people. I think they saved the city because when I left Thursday night the flames were rolling down the hillside as fast as could be. It was extremely scary."

12. Wideshot of residents leaving ferry returning to Avalon.

Residents have begun returning to a town on an island off the southern California coast in the US after firefighters and favourable weather halted a wildfire's advance onto the island's most populated area.

Nearly four thousand evacuated residents in Avalon on Catalina Island began heading back to inspect their homes and apartments and reopen businesses that largely cater to tourists.

Ferry's arrived from Long Beach with weary residents, some who had hardly slept in days, anxious to see that all is well.

Avalon resident Bruce Wright who returned by ferry to Catalina on Saturday said he hadn't "slept in a couple of days" and that he was worried about his home, which is on one of the highest buildings on the hill.

Wright described Thursday's evacuation as "extremely scary".

The cause of the fire, which erupted on Thursday afternoon in the 76-square-mile island's rugged interior, had not yet been determined but there was no doubt in the resident's minds that the tireless efforts of the firefighters had saved their city.

The fire is at least 35 per cent contained and full containment was expected by Monday when visitors would be able to return to the island.

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Tourists were barred from the island until at least Monday past the Mother's Day holiday weekend that had been expected to jump-start the summer season.

An average of one (m) million tourists a year spend 96 (m) million US dollars annually into the economy of the island, a vacation paradise with snorkelling, scuba diving, golf and hiking in an ecologically diverse terrain.

Environmentalists said it was too early to tell how the blaze affected the island's ecosystem, home to rare animal and plant life, including the Catalina Island fox.

But four bald eagle chicks that hatched earlier this year without human help were unharmed, said Bob Rhein, a spokesman for the Catalina Island Conservancy, which owns most of the island.

The birds are a milestone in the reintroduction of the species, which was wiped out on the island decades ago by chemical contamination.

Keyword-fire- wildfires