AVALON, Calif. – It’s supposed to be the start of high season on Catalina Island but instead the streets are mostly still. 

It’s a heartbreaking sight for Catalina local Lisa Lavelle to see her home this way. 

“It’s just been very surreal. When this hit we were literally just in the weeks where we see the upturn of business again,” Lavelle said. 

Lavelle was recently elected to Catalina Island City Council and also operates three businesses on the island, including Catalina Coffee & Cookie Co. and Catalina Tours, both of which are now shuttered. Lavelle has had to apply for unemployment like the majority of her neighbors.

RELATED COVERAGE:

“I’m feeling what everyone is feeling,” Lavelle said. “There’s significant highs and lows and they come from different directions. The hard part is figuring out what things will look like when things do re-open.”

For Lavelle, the pandemic has also brought up unexpected pain over the loss of her father five years ago, who passed away on the mainland where Lavelle wasn’t able to be by his side. 

“Seeing all the people dealing with going through the loss of a loved one without being able to physically be there is bringing up a lot of emotion again,” Lavelle said. 

The island is a tight-knit community with less than 4,000 full time residents. Only essential workers are allowed to travel to the island now and social distancing and mask rules all apply here just as they do on the mainland. 

There have only been two reported cases of the coronavirus, but it sparked fears of a larger outbreak because there is only one grocery store, one post office and one hospital. 

“The fear is real over how easy it would be to spread something here,” Lavelle said. 

It’s the reason many who work on the island but don’t call it home are staying on the mainland, including Catalina Chamber of Commerce President Jim Luttjohann.

“If anything this time at home I think is giving people more time to indulge in the fantasy of what they could be doing,” Luttjohann said. 

Luttjohan hopes that means pent-up demand for visiting Catalina Island when the pandemic is over. 

“We love having them, we need them, it’s vital, we have no other economy but tourism,” Luttjohann said. 

Lavelle echoes that sentiment and is looking forward to getting her businesses up and running again. She hopes whatever the new normal is people keep her beautiful island on the top of their post-safer-at-home order to-do list. 

“There’s hope in the long run,” she said. “We can’t wait to welcome people back but we don’t want you right now.”