Impact on tourism

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With the fire at bay this morning, hotel and restaurant owners and small-shop operators were turning their attention to the economic impact on what should have been a profitable Mother’s Day weekend in Avalon.

‘We have people who made reservations many months ago. We’re telling them they can’t get here,’ said Caroline Alderdice of the Catalina visitors’ center. ‘There’s no fire danger in town, but the air is full of smoke.’

Elsewhere on the island, there were reports that the second-largest tourist center, Two Harbors, was without power or telephone service because the fire in the interior of the island had disrupted power lines.

‘I understand the fire is everywhere between here and the airport 10 miles to the west,’ said Catalina Chamber of Commerce President Wayne Griffin, who was in his office struggling to keep up with non-stop telephone calls from people trying to get information.

With regard to the loss of business, he said: ‘It’s not the Fourth of July, but it’s an important weekend for us. We had a fabulous March and a good April, and we’re enthusiastic about the upcoming season. This will put a hiccup in things. But my guess is that by the end of next week, we’ll be back to normal.’

Normal in Catalina means revenues of about $96 million a year from cross-channel carriers and $10.5 million a year from cruise ship passengers.

‘Tourism is our only source of revenue. It’s all we’ve got,’ Griffin said.

‘This is a time for straight talk: This is not a place for visitors today.’

-Louis Sahagun in Avalon