Business burned

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Jose Vazquez, 35, and Guillermo Hernandez, 39, construction workers on the island, stood outside City Hall this morning with their sons. They had spent the night at St. Catherine’s Catholic Church, which holds Mass in Spanish for the considerable Spanish-speaking population.

‘You’re going to see a lot of businesses closed,’ Vazquez said, ‘because so many people went across to the [mainland]. I don’t think they will be able to go out to eat.’

He said Mexicans are vital to the local tourist industry.

‘For every business you see three Americans, the rest are Mexican.’

The friends work for Fine Line Construction, which employs 40 people, most of them Mexican immigrants. The entire company office and warehouse in Bird Canyon burned down Thursday night, including wood, trucks, equipment and other material, said Mark Alft, supervisor at Fine Line.

-Sam Quinones in Avalon