Editor’s Note: As of press time, much of the damage created by the surge from hurricane Marie was still being assessed. Next week, the Catalina Islander will provide greater coverage of the storm surge and its aftermath.
For the second time this summer, Catalina Island was pummeled by swells and surge kicked up by a Mexican hurricane. But this time, the damage done over the past week by Hurricane Marie, was far greater.
Editor’s Note: As of press time, much of the damage created by the surge from hurricane Marie was still being assessed. Next week, the Catalina Islander will provide greater coverage of the storm surge and its aftermath.
For the second time this summer, Catalina Island was pummeled by swells and surge kicked up by a Mexican hurricane. But this time, the damage done over the past week by Hurricane Marie, was far greater.
As it was with the havoc created by hurricane Cristina in early July, the Pebbly Beach area south of Avalon took the brunt of the damage. All Tuesday night, particularly at high tide, massive waves crashed relentlessly into the small businesses and storage containers that have sat along the shore undisturbed for decades.
Many local artisans and small shop owners keep much of their merchandise in storage containers in the area and even operate small studios there. Some of them lost everything.
At Pebbly Beach Building Supply, stacks of lumber and piles of sand and gravel were leveled and strewn about. Most of the picnic area at Pete’s, long a favorite meeting place for Avalon’s VFW Post #4682, was carved to a fraction of its former size by the waves. Aside from the submerged fire ring, the only things left standing were one small structure and the flag staff with Old Glory waving in the morning breeze.
The most striking examples of destruction occurred at the Pebbly Beach Boat Yard and the Catalina Laundry. The entire interior of the boat yard was strewn with skiffs, large power yachts, fishing rods, outboard engines and even a tour bus half buried in the gravel. As of noon Wednesday, waves were still occasionally inundating the wrecks. Much of the riprap and chain link fence that once protected the boat yard was nowhere to be seen.
The inside of the Catalina Laundry appeared to be a total loss with two or three feet of gravel filling the entire facility and laundry and equipment scattered everywhere. Work crews on Wednesday morning were busy salvaging what they could in carts which they wheeled through a foot of standing water near the heliport.
Even the Southern California Edison power generating facility wasn’t spared, despite being sited at a slightly higher altitude than much of the rest of Pebbly Beach. According to Avalon Fire Chief Mike Krug, at one point during the night a rogue wave washed completely over the top of a utility pole shorting out the power lines. Power to much of Avalon was lost briefly, but as of Wednesday afternoon the facility was safe and secure and running smoothly.
Both the heliport and the barge landing at Catalina Freight Lines—Avalon’s lifeline of food supplies from the mainland—seemed intact and operational.
But the sea giveth as well as taketh away and the waves also dredged up countless pieces of old Catalina tile and vintage bottles. In years past, Avalon’s dump and the old Catalina Clay Products Division tile plant were located near the focal point of much of the destruction and the churned-up beachfront area sparkled with colored glass and glazed tile fragments.
Though largely spared the destruction of Pebbly Beach, Avalon Bay suffered a fair amount of damage as well.
On Tuesday night, a drama played out in front of Avalon Bay while a medevac helicopter attempted to retrieve a patient from the deck of the Carnival Cruise Lines ship which had been visiting Avalon throughout the day. The helicopter rescue was necessary because the storm surge prevented a normal evacuation by boat.
All day Tuesday and Wednesday, Islanders and visitors lined Front Street watching the waves crash into the seawall. Near Antonio’s Pizzeria & Cabaret, spectators gasped as waves occasionally broke over the restaurant’s outside dining area, something normally only seen during strong winter Nor’easters.
Jim Parrish, long-time mechanic for Avalon Boat Stand, said his work skiff was pinned under the Green Pier at some point during Tuesday night and crushed. He was waiting for the surge to die down before attempting to salvage what was left of it on the bottom.
Before the full effect of the surge was felt, Avalon Harbor Department crews took up the ramp at the fuel dock and disconnected dinghy docks to be secured in deeper water—highly unusual procedures for this time of year.
While AFD Chief Krug said there were no reported injuries, he said L.A. County Fire’s Baywatch had to rescue a group of kayakers from a beach near Italian Gardens because of the surge. The group was in no danger, he said, “they just couldn’t get out of there.”
