Fourth of July days of fun
Fourth of July was a multi-day holiday weekend in Avalon. The town started filling in preparation for the Independence Day festivities.
The Fourth of July parade, led by the USC Marching Band for the 23rd year, was enjoyed by a huge crowd and had an average number of entries.
Wayne Griffin, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, reported that visitor counts were good despite the mid-week holiday.
Fourth of July days of fun
Fourth of July was a multi-day holiday weekend in Avalon. The town started filling in preparation for the Independence Day festivities.
The Fourth of July parade, led by the USC Marching Band for the 23rd year, was enjoyed by a huge crowd and had an average number of entries.
Wayne Griffin, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, reported that visitor counts were good despite the mid-week holiday.
“Based on what we have seen in the past, I would estimate that we had approximately 8,000 people in town for the Fourth of July this year. If the holiday had fallen on a weekend it would have been closer to 10,000,” he said.
Griffin said the hotels were near sold out and had a 98.5 percent occupancy for the night of Wednesday, July 4.
Additionally, the Harbor department reported that both inside harbor and Descanso and Hamilton Coves were completely sold-out by Tuesday, and they were expecting them to remain full through the weekend as well.
Wednesday evening featured a concert at Casino Point. The evening music was started off by Xceptional Music Company’s Tribute to the British Rock Invasion, and was headlined by a two-hour show performed by Spencer Davis and the Catalina All Stars. The Museum reported within the first hour of the event that 600 tickets were pre-sold and many additional fans were purchasing their tickets at the door.
The evening culminated with a fireworks display over Avalon Harbor. Many noticed that this year’s pyrotechnical display was a bit different than those in years past.
Fire Chief and City Manager Steve Hoefs explained that there was a need to move away from the hand-fired fireworks that have been used in the past.
Lt. Doug Fetteroll of the Los Angeles Sherriff’s Department said there was only one arrest during this busy holiday, and that for his first year here on the Island he was very happy with how smoothly everything went.
Shark sightings seem on the rise
The news media in July reported that a fisherman caught a rare reef shark near Catalina. It wasn’t especially large—most accounts put the so-called dusky shark at 150 pounds. That’s actually small for a dusky shark. Their average weight is 350-395 pounds, according to the International Shark Attack File and they can grow to 10 feet long.
Previously, a great white shark bit an occupied kayak off the California coast on Monday, July 9. Experts who examined the kayak expressed the opinion that the attacker was a great white.
A surfer reported seeing a great white off Laguna Beach in April, according to the Shark Research Committee. In May, a shark researcher reported seeing a great white breach—leap out of the water and into the air—off the coast of Sunset Beach. Great whites breach when launching themselves like missiles at prey on the surface. In the Sunset Beach incident, the shark missed whatever it was hunting.
About two or three weeks before, a shark that was described as a great white was reported in Catalina waters, according to Steve Hoefs, Avalon fire chief and city manager. He said the sighting was not documented. Since then, there have been no other sightings.
State says Avalon is a fire hazard
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in July, declared Avalon a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.
In response, the Avalon City Council adopted Chapter 7A of the California Building Code at the council’s July 17, meeting.
According to a staff report to the council, CalFire had identified the entire city of Avalon as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone and recommended that the city adopt Chapter 7A of the state building code to reduce the risk to life and property. “Chapter 7A of the California Building Code requires new buildings and/or construction in the (zone) to use ignition resistant construction methods and materials for certain projects, such as, but not limited to, roofs, vents and exterior coverings,” said the report by Asst. Fire Chief. M. Krug. The permits for 2012 had not been approved.
“We’ve been working on it for months, but they haven’t been approved yet,” Radde said at the time.
