11:30 pm – Comment below if you have additional information not already posted here or in the comment section. Thank you and good night, all.
10:00 pm – people ARE trapped, as Stacy mentions in the comments below, people came back to Lucia, due to a rock slide near Big Creek. At least they are feeling trapped, because there is still N-F Rd. however, I can understand unfamiliar travelers not wanting to venture up THAT road in the dark. Could be slides there as well. The Big Creek rock slide is not being reported on the CHP website, however. CHP told Stan Russell that they cannot get to the area “because the shoulders were washed out.” Cal-Trans hopes to get this cleared tomorrow. Thanks Stacy for the explanation!
Okay, ladies and gentlemen, bigsurkate will be going off-line at some point tonight, so if you have anything to report, please post in the comments below, as Stacy and Suzi did, and share information with each other. Make sure to read the comments, if you are at this blog after about midnight tonight (I will be turning into a pumpkin about then) to see if there is anything recently reported, make sure to read the comments. I’ll be back in the morning, collecting and distilling information for those of you who are following this Highway One liquification.
9:00 pm – CHP has again listed this slide on their website. It also indicates that about 20 people are trapped in the area, and are calling for an update. The “trapped” is hard to understand, as there are no reported slides on Nasty-Fergesson, that I am aware of, and CHP doesn’t list any other slides to the north. But, there it is.
5:30 pm – it’s official, the road will remain closed overnight, and possibly through Sunday. I will update throughout the weekend to keep you all informed. More photos of the slide, courtesy of Rock Knocker will be posted tomorrow!
4:00 pm – the Villa Slide is no longer on the CHP website, but the road is still closed between Ragged Point and Gorda. More photos tomorrow. I just spoke to the Rock Knocker, retired Cal-Trans, who just now got through Villa Slide and he says CT is working it, they have one lane open, but are only letting cars go through every now and then. What that translates to is that the slide is still very active, and CT has to wait for breaks in the sliding to let people through for safety reasons.
Also, on the storm front, the storm predicted for this evening into Saturday looks to be staying off the coast, so if we do get any rain out of it, it should be light. The next storm due in Sunday thru Monday also looks light, as does the one mid-week. The next larger storm will be later in the week.
1:00 pm – Road update – per the CHP website, it would appear to still be closed.
BOTH LANES CLOSED BY A ROCK AND MUDSLIDE SOUTH OF GORDA AT MM 7, (that puts it near Villa Creek, north of Gorda Mtn.) ACROSS BOTH LANES. HIGHWAY ONE CLOSED AT WILLOW SPRINGS STATION AND AT RAGGED POINT. HOPING TO HAVE ONE LANE OPEN BY NOON, AND BOTH LANES BY TONIGHT.
And just in case anyone thinks they might be able to get through — think again. Here it is this morning: Photo by Danny Millsap, Maintenance Supervisor, Willow Springs Station.
That is the fog line on the SOUTH bound lane peeking through.
One can see Villa Creek to the north in the background here.
And here is our wonderful Cal-Trans crews workin’ it! You go, guys and gal!
Editor’s Note: There was a slide here earlier this winter. This slide happened last night, about 11 pm, according to the CHP. Another source places the slide event before 10 pm.
Also, on the storm front for tonight, NOAA posts this: “THE MODELS BRING THE UPPER SOUTH ALONG 130 WEST BEFORE SWINGING IT INLAND ON SATURDAY SOUTH OF PT CONCEPTION. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THE 12Z NAM12 DEVELOPS A DEFORMATION ZONE WITH 2 INCHES OF RAIN…ONLY ALONG THE SANTA LUCIAS…AND THAT`S IT.”
The Santa Lucia’s, that’s us here in Big Sur, so we will all be watching this one closely.
My report from last night’s event is postponed due to slide activity and storm watch. Hopefully, by Sunday which is supposed to be a clear day!
Hi Kate, and all of you good folks of Big Sur, North and South. I wanted to say thanks to the kind people who stopped to check on us last Friday night when we got a flat tire just South of Pfeiffer. The kindness of strangers restores my faith in humanity everytime, so again thank you kind souls! My partner Bret, and I both knew it would be an interesting adventure to take the One down from Santa Cruz in such precarious weather to visit family in Cayucos, but you know that little voice that says, “Check BigSurKate’s Blog!” Well, I ignored it. I just figured oh, we’ll be fine. Dumb manuever. I must say I love that stretch of highway so much, it is an old dear friend, but perhaps I should opt for a 4 wheel drive Jeep with extra tires and fuel the next time I think I can just throw caution to the wind, the rain , the boulders, the sharp rock that taught our poor little Prius’tire a lesson. A big hug to Avis for taking care of us in Lucia and telling us that we were in for more trouble if we didn’t wait til morning. The cabin was wonderful, when can I move in? You Cal Trans guys and gal ROCK, pun intended. Thanks again, Heather Harvell
Thanks, Heather, for sharing your story. Prius not recommended on Highway One during an El Niño winter. Doesn’t like it. LOL I’ve got a 4×4 5.2 liter Jeep, with one spare tire, and my “winter” outfitting – sleeping bag down to 30 degrees, pillow, book, flashlight, water, power bars, and first-aid kit, in case i get caught behind, in front of, or in between slides. I often have a full load of groceries, extra clothes (laundry), drinks of various sorts, and dog food, too. It’s why the back seat in my Jeep doesn’t know the meaning of passengers. But that does remind me to put a clean pair of clothes in my winter box, just in case I am NOT carrying laundry! I’ll make sure Avis sees your post, but I do remember her telling me about you two!
Thanks for all the updates. I was hoping you had some shots of the slide posted. Great shots Danny! Sure is a confusing weather forecast. The local channels are saying it will miss us and head towards southern cal. And if we get anything it should be light then clear for the next 7 days.
Heather …big hugs back!!! It makes me happy to know that what started out to be a bad day ended up being such a magical & wonderful time for you both. You made my night too. Not a bad place to wake up to heh? And best of all, you made it to Cayucos safe and sound.
Hi The reason for people being trapped is there is a new slide North of Lucia around Big Creek Large boulders will be removed tomorrow we hope. I was working and people came in saying this .Great time for me to say Thanks Kate for always keeping us up on what is happening:)
Man am I glad I went to town early and got back early. I had a feeling about a spot up by Big Creek. Wonder if it’s the same spot? I prefer to be stuck at home. Glad you made it home Stacey.
The slide south of Gorda is actually just south of Alder Creek and just north of the construction site where they’ve been working on the highway undercut caused by the previous storm created ocean surge. I was the lucky one who discovered the slide last night around 8:45pm. I didn’t realize, in the dark, what it was at first, thinking that it was a part of the mountain that the road normally curves around, until I soticed that the road disappeared under the mountain! A quick slam on the brakes threw everything on the front passenger seat onto the floor. After a quick back track in reverse gear, I managed to find enough room to do a u-turn and head to Cal Trans Richard’s home to report the slide, then head to Treebones to warn the partiers that no one would be able to drive south. Crystal had already made plans to climb across in the dark and meet Tommy on the other side. I guess she made it safely, otherwise I probably would have heard something. One slip and down to the beach you go…
Yes, I managed to make it to through the slide tonight, thanks to Lynne who came by the office and gave me the heads up about Cal Trans’ decision to let everyone through from 5:30 to 6pm. When I pulled into the line, Paul told me that the cars from the north had already gone through and that as soon as the north bound cars passed, the road would be officially closed. A few minutes later, Phil told me that the crew had decided to let the southbound cars through again, and then immediately make a hard closure by buildinig a burm in the one lane opening in the slide. So, unless someone can bring their own dozer, they’re not getting through there tonight.
Thank you so much, Stacy and Suzi for keeping us all informed about conditions out there tonight! As a community, sharing accurate, first hand experience will get us much further than the “official” reports, which are often lag so far behind events, particularly on week-ends or furlough Fridays! You ladies are awesome!