‘We’re not going to’ leave

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Earl Schrader, 55, who owns a real estate firm on Catalina, spent Thursday night at his office with his seven cats after being evacuated from his home. This morning, he was cleaning the windows of ash and preparing to catch up on paperwork. Residents aren’t going to leave, he said. ‘Even if we’re told to leave, we’re not going to,’ Schrader said.

Donna Harris and Dave Smith have lived in Catalina since January after moving from Arizona. Smith, who used to work at the fire lookout in Glacier National Park in Montana, was fascinated by the fire. ‘This is quite a show,’ he said. ‘I’ve never seen anything quite like this.’

People were pulling together, the couple said. For example, one neighbor, a butcher, was driving around in his golf cart every few hours, giving updates.

‘Everybody knows everybody, everybody knows everybody’s kids, everybody’s had to pull together,’ Smith said.

-Seema Mehta in Avalon