Calm, and commerce, returning to the island

The fire still smoldered Saturday, but even then, the phones at Catalina Island Vacation Rentals kept ringing. Not with cancellations but with reservations.

In two weeks, Memorial Day will launch the unofficial start of peak season on Santa Catalina, when the island crawls with boaters, campers and day-trippers who pour millions into its tourism-reliant economy.

Despite the roaring flames that burned precariously close to Avalon and charred 4,200 mountainous acres, locals are predicting this year won’t be any different.

“We believe that once they get this sucker knocked down, there will be a return to normalcy,” said Oley Olsen of Santa Catalina Island Co., which operates two hotels, the landmark red-roofed Catalina Casino and the Descanso Beach Club.

Not even the dwindling fire smoking in the distance could stop Dana Point Yacht Club members from their boat-to-boat cocktail parties on the blue marina waters.

“Yesterday, the weather here was perfect,” said Greg Cox, 59, of Laguna Niguel, who cruised over with his wife on their 38-foot powerboat, Endless Summer, on Thursday morning before the fire and decided to stay. “It was one of the best times I’ve had in Avalon -- not crowded.”

Saturday, a deep overnight marine layer, which was expected to return this morning, continued to aid firefighters. The blaze, which was 69% contained by nightfall, burned slowly in remote mountain areas. With continued cool, moist weather, fire officials expected full containment Tuesday.

On the island’s hilly interior, 771 firefighters -- most with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection -- dug breaks along the blaze’s perimeter to keep embers from jumping. Nine water-dropping helicopters and five fixed-wing aircraft worked through the day.

“This is brutal, backbreaking work,” said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Scott Ross, as he watched the ground crews work in rugged terrain. “This is the backbone of the mop-up operation right here.”

The cause of the fire was still under investigation, although authorities have said that contractors working on an inland radio tower may have inadvertently started the blaze.

At the peak of the emergency Thursday and Friday, 3,200 residents and visitors evacuated. But by Saturday, life was slowly returning to normal. Residents continued to return by the boatload on the Catalina Express. Merchants began sweeping and wiping away ash to prepare for the arrival of tourists, who are not permitted to board commercial ferries until Monday. Only private boaters had access to the island.

Although most stores remained shuttered, several restaurants stayed open, catering to firefighters and locals in search of a gathering spot.

The exception was Two Harbors, a haven toward the other end of the island for campers and boaters looking for a less touristy getaway. Its one restaurant and lodge remained virtually cut off, without electricity, water or phone service.

Businesses are estimating the losses for Mother’s Day weekend at $500,000. At this time last year, there were roughly 2,500 visitors Friday and 2,800 on Saturday. This weekend, firefighters and emergency crews made up the bulk of the hotel guests. Most of the hotels opened their doors to firefighting agencies with no charge or reduced rates.

Tourism is expected to contribute $96 million to the island’s economy this year. Anything more than a couple of lost weekends would take a big toll on the tiny community because about 1,740 people -- or 70% of the island’s adult population -- work in tourism-related jobs.

Island boosters are doing damage control, posting upbeat alerts on the Catalina Island Chamber of Commerce website. A note to prospective visitors tells them not to worry about reservations made for upcoming trips.

There’s also a sales pitch:

“In fact, for those of you that haven’t booked your trip to Catalina Island yet, we urge you to make your reservations soon.... Also keep in mind, Catalina is not just an island, it’s another world.”

The island’s dozens of campsites, most clustered in the Two Harbors area, were not burned. Many hiking trails are also still intact. And water sports -- snorkeling, scuba diving and kayaking -- will resume unscathed.

“The marine life has been wonderful,” said Avalon resident and Catalina Diver Supply instructor Ron Moore. “It’s a good season for diving. It’s probably the most dive-able place in Southern California all year-round.”

At the Glenmore Plaza Hotel, only a couple of people canceled rooms for next weekend, citing concerns over air pollution. Desk clerk James Amoroso said he isn’t too worried -- the hotel’s roughly 50 rooms are nearly sold out for next weekend.

Not every business owner, however, will find it easy to recover. Jay Guion, 70, co-owner of Joe’s Rent-a-Boat, had a full stock of unused kayaks, paddle boats and motorboats Saturday. All told, he estimates that he’s losing $10,000 in rental income, plus $100,000 for a storage shed and boat destroyed in the fire.

“It’s devastating,” Guion said as he looked at a photo of his charred 24-foot skipjack. “We’ve had floods, different things happening. Nothing of this magnitude as far as loss is concerned.”

Despite the personal loss, Guion said tourism won’t suffer in the long term.

“It’s not going to discourage people,” Guion said.

If Southern California’s wildfire history is any indication, tourists have short memories.

Laguna Beach City Manager Ken Frank said he did not recall a significant drop in tourism after a devastating fire there in 1993. It affected “the hillsides, not the beach or downtown. So after a week, people were back.... People are still going to want to come to the beach,” he said.

After a series of fires in the San Bernardino Mountains, including a devastating 2003 fire near Lake Arrowhead and another in 2006 that came much closer to the Big Bear resorts, officials in Big Bear mounted a public relations campaign to ensure that tourism wasn’t affected, said Ken Brengle, chief executive of the Big Bear Lake Resort Assn.

“It’s a full-court press to let the traveling public, especially the Southern California market, know that you can still go to Catalina or Big Bear or anywhere else and enjoy the activities that are available,” Brengle said.

And tourists, like the Agpawa family, can be a hardy bunch. Despite the evacuation, some tourists refused to abandon their vacations.

Sam Agpawa, 77, and his family arrived Monday and stayed through the weekend and had normally crowded streets all to themselves.

On Saturday, they found at least one open souvenir shop, where Agpawa’s daughters bought him a blue-and-gold golf shirt. Next stop: ice cream.

The family nearly left the island, though, Thursday night, after emergency crews knocked on the door of their vacation rental urging them to leave. They watched the flames from the pier, suitcases stacked around them, and sang an old-time favorite: “Twenty-six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is a-waitin’ for me. Santa Catalina, the island of romance, romance, romance, romance.”

When they realized their street was under only voluntary evacuation orders, they headed back, vowing not to let the fire spoil their trip.

“We stuck to it,” said Agpawa’s daughter, Aura Bruce, 46, of Concord, Mass. “Nothing was going to tarnish our vacation.”

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susannah.rosenblatt@latimes.com

joel.ruben@latimes.com

kimi.yoshino@latimes.com