On the first night of the recent Topanga Fire, when Eyewitness News went off the air to make room for the network, ABC7 viewers were directed to the station's parallel digital channel ABC7Plus to keep watching fire updates. This week's L.A. Business Journal says it was a sign of progress in local TV.

“It’s something we’d been considering trying for a long time and this seemed like an appropriate opportunity,” said [Bill] Burton, vice president of programming, advertising and promotions. “That night the story had grown to the point where there was interest in covering it a while longer, but it wasn’t big enough that it warranted pre-empting the network news like we did the next night.”

In addition to the high-definition version of Channel 7, KABC programs two additional over-the-air digital channels – one providing local weather radar and the other offering a mix of rebroadcast local and network news shows, some syndicated programs and a few infomercials. But on a high-interest local story like the first major wildfire of the season, ABC7Plus, also known as Channel 7.2, can provide the station with the flexibility of a 24-hour news network.

Though ABC has been among the most aggressive in promoting its digital and broadband offerings, its L.A. station appears to be one of the first to use part of its share of the digital spectrum as an extension of the primary channel.

Either Channel 7 gave its website a new design or it has been a long time since I've been there. I found a digital TV FAQ page, as well as a broad array of news in Spanish.