Scene in Avalon Harbor

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Among those herding to the Catalina Express dock to leave the island, Michael E. Gallery stood out in his Panama hat, blue blazer with gold buttons and red power tie. Gallery said he had just completed a speech before the Western Area Chambers of Commerce on ‘The Seven Measures of Success’ at the island’s Zane Grey golf course resort when ‘firefighters calmly urged us to move down to the beach.’

At 6:45 p.m., he was hoping to get to LAX in time to catch the redeye to Chicago. Looking out at the enormous orange gray and white cloud rising off the surrounding hills and water-dropping helicopters crisscrossing overhead, Gallery said, with a smile, ‘this will all be good fodder for future lectures on surviving catastrophes.’

-Louis Sahagun in Avalon