These are the photos taken at the various slides yesterday and today, particularly, Villa Slide, Lucia, and Big Creek. They are not finished slippin’ and slidin’ and puking. All 3 are extremely active, very dangerous, and potentially deadly at night. I’m not a meteorologist. I’m not a slide specialist. I am merely a gal who is growing old here in Big Sur, and after 25 years, the last 20 on the South Coast, I have seen a bit. I would not be out on this road after dark tonight or any night in the foreseeable future.

I am publishing this post unfinished, and will be adding more and more photographs through out the evening. I have photos from yesterday and today from Rock Knocker and Avis Latone is sending me some she took of Villa Slide this afternoon, as well.

These two are Avis’s photos from this afternoon. Compare to the ones Rock Knocker took yesterday and this morning. Cal-Trans is truly faced with a Sisyphus task! And they are up to it!

Bringing it down before it slides down!

So, from South to North — Villa Slide. These first few were taken yesterday, by Rock Knocker.
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Danny Millsap sent me a similar photo yesterday, but I did not quite understand what I was seeing, until Rock Knocker explained it. All these rocks came down from the top. They are not placed there by man, although that is what it looks like, they were placed there by Mother Nature in all her glory!

This one that follows is from today at Villa Slide, also by Rock Knocker:

Here is one from the Lucia slip out from yesterday, also by Rock Knocker:

Oh, and then there is “Paul’s Slide” the fourth area of concern. This one has been around for a long time. It is south of Lucia, but before Pitkin’s Curve. It is mostly mud, but hazardous none-the-less. This was taken yesterday by Rock Knocker:

Here are the ones Rock Knocker took today at Lucia:

This monster is going north, through the Lucia slip out to the slide JSO of Big Creek. You’ll see why, when we make our way north.

Now, we head to Big Creek and see what happened there today…LOTS

This is that monster that was coming through Lucia. It is a type of hammer. It is going to break up that rock.

Watching for the slides …

5:20 pm – I don’t care what NWS says, it is raining. My poncho is wet, my road is wet, and there are raindrops on my windows. It has been varying from a slight drizzle to a substantial, but not heavy rain. My concern, of course, is the road below. ANY rain is going to close Villa and Big Creek again tonight. Cal-Trans is re-enacting the Greek Myth of Sisyphus.

4:30 pm – Major Hail just hit. I’ve been watching the blackening clouds. It was interesting just before the hail hit. Rock Knocker was looking out the glass door to the north, and I was looking out the glass door to the south and east. He yelled, “Come look at this, it is raining north!” I said, come look at this, it is black to the south east.” We changed positions, and when he saw the blackness to the south east, he said, “Holy sh** it is heading right to us.” Sure enough, in less than 5 minutes, the hail hit. Lightning strikes reported in SLO, but the radar shows SoCal is really being hit with this one.

I am uploading photos to my computer of the slides, taken yesterday and today. Will post separately as soon as I have sorted through the 500 photos Rock Knocker just dumped on me. So I will have 2 simultaneous posts going on this evening – weather and slide reports. Oh, my!

1:30 pm – CHP is advising the road is closed, per their website.

10:30 am – CT is escorting vehicles through the slide near Gamboa Point, per CHP. Unknown how long the wait. One local reported waiting at the Villa slide yesterday for 2 hours. Another local reported this: “BIG slide last night south of Big creek driveway and north of Cirlce M ranch.We had to go back to town and down thru Liggett to get home.”

8:30 am – the CHP still has no ETO for the opening of the road.

7:00 am – As of midnight last night, the CHP reports the rock slide to the north of us at mile marker 26, which is just south of Gamboa Point. This is where the construction is going on and has been going on for quite some time. CHP arrived on the scene about 12:47 this am.

The second slide is at mile marker 7, just north of the construction at Shale Point. This is the one I, and Danny Millsap (on his images names), refer to as Villa Slide. Currently, the only way out is up over Nacemiento-Fergusson Rd. through Ft. Hunter Liggett, if there are no slides on that road. I have not heard. Hopefully the slide near Gamboa Point will get cleared today.

No rain here last night, thank goodness.

I will report throughout the day, as information becomes available, and this afternoon, more shots of the slide to the south. If I am lucky, I will get photos of the one at Gamboa Point, also.