Month: July 2009

Slight chance of thundershowers tonight

Most of us here on the Central Coast have noted the clouds overhead today. NOAA has a forecast discussion of interest to us.

“TRACE AMOUNTS OF PRECIP HAVE BEEN REPORTED AT THE MONTEREY CLIMATE STATION…NEAR HOLLISTER AND IN LIVERMORE SO FAR. NO LIGHTNING HAS BEEN DETECTED YET…BUT MAINLY DUE TO FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS A SLIGHT CHANCE WAS ADDED TO THE HILL ZONES FROM THE EAST BAY SOUTHWARD THROUGH MONTEREY/SAN BENITO COUNTY FOR THIS EVENING.

LATEST RADAR RETURNS AND EXAMINATION OF VISIBLE SATELLITE SUGGESTS THAT NEXT BAND OF MOISTURE CURRENTLY WEST OF BIG SUR COULD BE A LITTLE MORE UNSTABLE. FOR NOW HAVE LEFT ANY SHOWER/T-STORM CHANCES IN THE 15-20% RANGE FROM THE EAST BAY SOUTHWARD THROUGH THIS EVENING WITH ANY CHANCES ENDING BY ABOUT 12Z AS UPPER TROUGH AXIS PUSHES MOISTURE AXIS TO OUR EAST. SO WILL MONITOR PRECIP TRENDS THIS EVENING WITH DRY FORECAST FOR SUNDAY.”

And an 8:45 update:
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS HAVE BROKEN OUT…A FEW NEAR THE DELTA LATE THIS AFTERNOON…AND ONE NEAR HALF MOON BAY EARLY THIS EVENING. GRIDS AND VARIOUS PUBLIC AND FIRE WEATHER TEXT
FORECASTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED THIS EVENING TO BETTER REFLECT CURRENT WEATHER CONDITIONS. ALSO…BASED ON RADAR AND SATELLITE DATA…IT APPEARS THAT ISOLATED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY MAY LAST PAST MIDNIGHT AND SO HAVE EXTENDED RAINFALL CHANCES THROUGH THE NIGHT.

Ripplewood Garden

As promised several days ago, here is a photo of the colorful displays of flowers between Ripplewood and the Big Sur Library. Beautiful colors.

I’ve also asked for permission to photograph some private gardens. I don’t have a lot of time, at the moment, but will fit this into my schedule when time allows.

DSC_0314_2

The more I look at this on my blog, the more dissatisfied with it I become. The colors are “muddied.” I’ll have to check the white balance more carefully, next time.

Unofficial Fire Watch

Soaring isn’t here any more. No “official” fire watchers exist. I am here and care. So, I watch.

I came up tonight to note a “huge” group at Hard Rocks driveway. Partying. Young kids need a place to party that is safe. As long as they have no campfire. So, I see about 8 to 12 vehicles parked at Hard Rocks.I must come out after dark and check. Is that a light or is it a fire? We luck out. No campfire, and I don’t need to call it in. I check Prewitt Ridge, Willow Creek, and all the areas I can see for campfires. None. Good Friday Night.

Tough, being on Top O’ the World.

Big Sur Wildfire Protection Plan

Last night’s meeting was attended by about a dozen people.

There was a presentation of the process itself, answering questions along the way. The goal is to produce a planning level document which prioritizes wildfire protection strategies, using finite resources, and protecting targeted resources.

This planning document is to be much more detailed about what is on/under/around “target areas” than the Monterey County Wildfire Protection Plan, but consistent with it, and the later will be incorporated by reference into the Monterey County General Plan.

Thirty-seven “target” areas between Andrew Molera State Park in the north, and the San Luis Obispo County line were identified. These target areas incorporate private property parcels into “blocks.”

“For this level of planning it is conditions within, and adjacent to, these ownership blocks that will be for the focus of the information analysis and prioritization procedure.

With respect to future fuels modification project the focus will be primarily on:
– Ridge tops
-Upper mid-slope positions, and;
-Roads”

The project actively solicits community input,both through public meetings and written comments. If you wish to submit written comments, you may do so to: bigsurcwpp@gmail.com or in writing to:

Big Sur Community Wildfire Protection Plan
s/c Daus Environmental Services
P.O. Box 71058
Sunnyvale, CA 94086

If you would prefer to remain anonymous, you may submit your emailed comments to me, at kwnovoa@mac.com, and I will forward them on after removing any identifying information.

If you have any thoughts you wish to share about the process, the plan, the objectives and goals, now is the time to submit them.

A follow-up meeting will be held for the South Coast on July 29th from 7-9 pm. At that meeting a tentative rough draft as to locations and content will be available.

The Big Sur Land Trust is funding and underwriting these efforts.

Lavender Coast

I have to get my notes together, and write a summary of the Wildfire Protection Plan meeting last night … I have the photos of the Ripplewood/Library garden to upload to my computer … I have to work, but am distracted by the beautiful summer day … but in the meantime, here is a stunning watercolor sent to me by the art teacher at Pacific Valley School, Dave Allen. I am going to use it as my banner for a while, as it is just so beautiful.
lavender sunset2

BSCWPP Meeting

The meeting is tonight, 7/8/09 from 7-9 pm at the South Coast Community Center. A similar meeting is scheduled for the North Coast tomorrow night.

From Joyce, she writes:

Hi,
There is a meeting here tonight at PV school and one tomorrow night at the state park. I hope that many locals will attend.
My point of view on last year’s fires:
I know that on the second day of what became known as the Basin Complex Fire, Don Case’s house and his daughter’s house burned down on Stone Ridge, along with two other homes. A mandatory evacuation had been enforced.
No one, including the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Department, was allowed up the road. Don’s son and son-in-law got around the road-block and were able to save some photos, some tools, and some of Don’s paintings, before they were ordered off the hill. Everything else burned and melted.
I know that some of our neighbors and friends defied the law and stayed to fight the fire. They saved not just their own homes, but, as a result, the rest of Big Sur. Had they not made a stand and risked arrest and incarceration, the Fire would have won.
The Chalk Fire on the southcoast had different people in charge and they respected the will of the locals and allowed them to fight for their homes.
I urge you all to attend this meeting and have a voice in the way this community responds to disaster. Protect our rights to protect our property!
Joyce

7/6 2008 vs. 7/6 2009

Last year, the road had been closed to all traffic for the 3d day. This year, all campgrounds are full, and there are lots of people visiting establishments up and down the coast. It is so good to see. Keep on comin’ y’all.

I took a couple shots of the gardens at Ripplewood near the Big Sur Library today. Will post one or two tonight or tomorrow.

Personal update: Dakota continues to improve. While there is still a large “gap,” the inside is healing up nicely. No outside off a leash until completely healed. Mom was moved to a rehabilitation center Friday night. So far, she’s happy there. I don’t expect that to last.

July 5th 2008

On this date, bigsurkate was born (the blog, not the person). Thanks to all my readers for your comments, your contact, and for making this so much fun!!

Last year on July 4th, Big Sur was on lock down — a ghost town. This year, Big Sur was packed. Events were held at almost every venue. Cars lined the highway at Esalen, HML, Nepenthe, Spirit Garden, River Inn. Every where one went, crowds were enjoying music, food, drink.

What a difference a year makes.

YAY! I reached 100K “hits” today for my 1 year anniversary, with no small help from my son, Brendon Shave, and thanks to all of you this past year.

July 4, 2008

July 4, 2008 – I cannot find my notes, and I did not write in my journal for much of July, as I was far too busy, but I started my blog one year ago tomorrow, so some of the story about last Independence Day was reported then. I am recreating the day, based primarily on a memory with holes in it – swiss cheese holes – a moth-eaten sweater. I also have no photographs taken that day, at least that I can find. The road was closed, as previously posted.

When I first got a copy of the 409.5 memo on 7/4, I called OES (Office of Emergency Services), and they had a Commander Teter of the MCSO call me back. When I got no satisfactory explanation about the issuance of the memo, other than it was to “educate” the Big Sur community about the power the MCSO had, I was furious. The MCSO was flexing its muscles and declaring a police-state in Big Sur, and fully intended on arresting who ever got in their way.

It was a holiday. Everything was closed. What could I do? The only places open were newsrooms. Having lived and worked in Monterey County, much of that in the justice system, I knew I needed to go outside of the county. I called the LA Times newsroom and the SF Chronicle newsroom. I posted something on surfire2008.org. Before my post was removed from surfire2008, Deborah Schoch, a staff reporter from the LA Times called. After speaking with her for some time, I got her phone numbers, and said I’d pass it on to a member of the Curtis family who was not in Big Sur, and if they wanted, they could pass it on to Micah and Ross. This resulted in more phone calls, and more long conversations with Curtis family members and LA Times reporter, Eric Bailey. Only a few days later, he and Deborah Schoch published a 3-page article about the police state in Big Sur. It is still accessible at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-backfire7-2008jul07,0,3314737.story

This was the start of the battle between Big Sur Locals and the Mike Kanalakis, Sheriff of Monterey County. Kanalakis also made the mistake of taking on Cachagua in Carmel Valley. Both were big mistakes.

Thanks to Jim Kimball for archiving posts from surfire2008 and other sources, we have an excellent record of all that happened on this day last year. It was a busy day, with reports from locals coming in up and down the coast all day long. Let’s not forget what it was like to live in this police state from July 3, 2008 to July 8, 2008, when the road opened to locals and their employees, and July 11, 2008 when the road opened completely.

Go to this link, and scroll down. It is arranged as all blogs tend to be, with the older posts first, or backwards chronology. Just scroll down to July 4th and start reading. It is fascinating:

http://www.surcoast.com/Info_Update_OLD.html

July 3, 2008

July 3rd, 2008, one year ago today, the MCSO issued its infamous memo.

sheriffevacinfo

All our representative’s offices were closed for the long week-end. I am convinced to this day that the timing was purposeful. Can’t call Dave Potter’s office, can’t call Sam Farr’s office. Who can I connect to change this newly created “police state” in Big Sur. LA Times & San Fran Chronicle both come to mind. So, I call them. I provided the same story, but the LA Times was the most interested. Then, Ross Curtis got arrested.
(To be continued tomorrow.)