PAWS OF LIFE: It was not long...

PAWS OF LIFE: It was not long after her master died that Elsa found a new life. Elsa, a Siamese cat named for the lion in “Born Free,” scrambled onto a sheriff’s deputy from the rubble of the Topanga Canyon house where screenwriter Duncan Gibbins was burned trying to save her. With bandaged paws and singed whiskers, she’s in a shelter, drawing calls of concern from as far away as England (B6). . . . Gibbins’ rescue effort, his agent recalls, “tells you what a special kind of a guy he was.”

TOP ANTELOPE: Pictures of Bambi-like mascots, footballs soaked to slipperiness and 2 a.m. game film festivals. Antelope Valley High School’s Brent Newcomb definitely has his own style of football coaching. . . . But he has again steered the Antelopes into clinching distance of their third Golden League championship in as many years. (C10)

FIRE WALK WITH ME: Here the canyon is silent, drifted under in almost snowy ash. There some tiny island of a personal paradise defied the firestorm. A walk through the fire zone (B6) finds debris and destiny, ashes and miracles, odd juxtapositions like the plastic lens that melted out of a Mercedes’ light (above).

GO FIGURE: Some high school students look forward to getting homework from Bud Goode of Studio City, a top statistician who uses Monday night football to teach them how to analyze numbers (B8). “At the end of the semester they can understand why teams win,” Goode says . . . and better yet “why interest rates go up and down and more.”

GIVE PEACE A CHANCE: Just above Glendale, moments from urban rush, lies a world of green coolness: squirrels and flowers, ponds of ducks and Japanese carp--Descanso Gardens. The tall oaks of the camellia forest admit just enough sunlight for a fairy-tale “Secret Garden” atmosphere. The Chaparral Nature Trail has native California species. See Valley Life! Page 42

TONIGHT: Longtime high school football rivals Antelope Valley and Quartz Hill play at 7:30 at Quartz Hill, a game that could decide the Golden League championship. Admission $4.

WEATHER: Sunny with highs in the upper 70s to mid-80s. (B12)