Month: September 2014

Vegetation Fire in Cambria

3:10 pm – 1/4 acre, contained. Fire under investigation.

1:10 pm – Near Tin City – Village Ln. and Burton. Lots of eucalyptus and pine through there. They have a/a, 4-5 Cal Fire eng. as well as the Cambria Eng. hoping they can knock this one back in a hurry. Lots of homes could be in the path, particularly up hill.

Here is a map of the area

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This was contained by 3:30 pm and held to 1/4 acre. The cause is under investigation.

Missing female -FOUND

The “lost” female posted in the comments section, which I removed, saying she never was lost, it was simply a miscommunication, and she asked that this post be removed so her name does not come up in a Google search. Rather than remove it, I have removed any identifying information, and the photos, but left the post so that readers will know there was a happy ending to this story. She also stated she kept an eye out for Arvin in her travels.

Stan Russell asked me to post this:

**** was camping alone in the Mill Creek/Nacimiento-Ferguson corridor and has gone missing.

****came to the area on Tuesday, September 16. She was going to the Mill Creek Road area. She had previously camped along Nacimiento-Ferguson Road and has a very worthy vehicle so she could be anywhere along the ridgeline of Prewitt Ridge and beyond. She called her sister from the Pacific Valley Ranger station pay phone on Sunday, September 21 letting her know her phone battery was dead and that she would be back on Tuesday, September 23.

DETAILS:
**** Blond hair, blue eyes, 5’3” 135 pounds. Driving a dark gray Toyota Land Cruiser with roof racks, snorkel, and British Columbia, Canada license plates. The steering wheel is on the right hand side (British style).

A missing persons report has been filed with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department. If you have see *** or know her whereabouts please contact Monterey County Sheriff’s Department at (831) 755-5111.

Upcoming rain predictions

THE MODELS HAVE TRENDED SLOWER IN MOVING THE COLD FRONTAL RAIN BAND THROUGH OUR AREA AROUND MIDWEEK AND THIS SEEMS REASONABLE GIVEN THAT THE TROUGH WILL BE DEEPENING AS IT APPROACHES THE COAST. IT NOW LOOKS LIKE RAIN WILL BEGIN IN THE NORTH BAY ON WEDNESDAY BUT NOT MAKE IT SOUTH AND EAST THROUGH THE REST OF THE SF BAY AREA UNTIL LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT OR EVEN THURSDAY MORNING. HAVE ADJUSTED THE POP GRIDS ACCORDINGLY. THE SOUTHERN EXTENT OF THE FRONTAL RAIN BAND IS EXPECTED TO REACH TO ABOUT THE MONTEREY PENINSULA ON THURSDAY MORNING. THEREAFTER…THE GFS AND ECMWF AGREE QUITE WELL IN PRODUCING ONLY ISOLATED LIGHT SHOWERS AS THE UPPER TROUGH MOVES THROUGH FROM LATE THURSDAY THROUGH FRIDAY EVENING. THE GEM MODEL…ON THE OTHER HAND…INDICATES MUCH MORE MOISTURE
WITH THE TROUGH AND THIS MODEL SPREADS ANOTHER ROUND OF WIDESPREAD RAIN ACROSS OUR AREA ON FRIDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING. HAVE KEPT RAIN CHANCES GOING THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT…BUT CONFIDENCE IN THE FORECAST DECREASES CONSIDERABLY AFTER THURSDAY EVENING GIVEN MODEL DIFFERENCES. THERE IS CURRENTLY NO EXPECTATION FOR THUNDERSTORMS WITH THIS SYSTEM…BUT THIS WILL NEED TO BE LOOKED AT MORE CLOSELY AS WE DRAW NEARER TO THE PRECIP EVENT.

RAINFALL TOTALS WITH THIS SYSTEM LOOK TO BE MOSTLY AROUND A
QUARTER OF AN INCH OR LESS EXCEPT UP TO A HALF INCH OR MORE IN THE COASTAL MOUNTAINS…ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTH BAY. THESE TOTALS ARE BASED ON THE GFS AND ECMWF GUIDANCE AND HIGHER AMOUNTS WOULD OCCUR IF THE 00Z GEM SCENARIO WERE TO VERIFY.

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Tribute to Honey Jack

I don’t like doing death announcements on my blog, but by now, most people know that Honey Jack (Koch) left us on Tuesday, the 16th. He went off the road going up to Pfeiffer Ridge.

I did not know Jack, other than seeing him around. But after his passing, I wish I had. Everyone I have spoken with has told me what a valuable, sweet, open hearted member of the community he was. I heard story after story about his contributions to his landlords, neighbors, and friends. Most of Big Sur Valley has benefitted by his presence in our midst, and he will be greatly missed by the community that loved him.

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Photo by Trey Kropp.

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photo from the Big Sur Bakery Cookbook.

Blessings on your journey, Jack. May you reunite with friends and loved ones.

Foto Friday, 9/19

Thank goodness it is Friday, as this week has been a week of words. Things that need to be written or reported. I am glad I created this respite from the words .. A visual world where words are not needed.

These first two of Big Sur were taken yesterday, during our first rain.

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Then, here’s Africa!

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Rain Report – 9/18/14

10:00 pm – final total, .38″ an acceptable total. It’s a start.

6:30 am – wow, the rain is increasing. It is now up to .19″ total. One more report at 7:00, then I am off to town, away from my rain gauge. LOL, I laugh at the joy every 1/100th of an inch brings me this morning, and know that this winter, I will only be reporting gains of an inch at a time. All is perspective.

6:00 am – rain rate is up a bit to .09″ an hour, and the total for the day/month/year is now .15″ double what was predicted. I hope the whole Big Sur Coast is enjoying this phenomena.

5:00 am – I am up to almost a tenth of an inch, now. As a side note: all my windows facing north or west are covered with rain but those facing east or south are completely dry. Guess we can tell the direction of this storm, as predicted …

Woke at 4:00 am – to the first, soft, gentle, glorious rain of the season. My high zoot rain gauge is measuring again, finally. It says we are getting .05″ per hour, and that we have received .05″ thus far. It is enough to settle some of the dust that has been plaguing me for months … It is enough that the skins of earth, plants, and critters alike are soaking up the precious moisture in glee … It is enough to get and keep me excited so that I will probably not get back to sleep even though I must be up in two hours to make an early appointment in town. It’s fine with me. I’ll take lack of sleep for a bit of the wet stuff at this point! (Sorry, in my sleepy haze, I originally thought it was Friday. I’ve changed the date in the title to reflect that it is indeed Thursday.)

Fracking in Monterey County

Everyone should know about this meeting.

Begin forwarded message:

From: “Tia Lebherz, Food & Water Watch”
Date: September 17, 2014 11:55:58 AM PDT
To: whittington@bigsur88.net
Subject: Don’t frack Monterey County!
Reply-To: “Tia Lebherz, Food & Water Watch”

This fall, the Board of Supervisors will be considering a moratorium on fracking in Monterey County. It’s going to be a real fight, and we’re kicking it off with an educational forum to help get the word out about this serious threat to the county. Can you join us in Salinas this Saturday, September 20 at 1:00 p.m.?

What: Educational forum – hear from local speakers about how fracking would impact Monterey County
When: Saturday, September 20 at 1:00 p.m.
Where: Hartnell College – Steinbeck Hall, 411 Central Ave., Salinas, CA
RSVP at act.foodandwaterwatch.org
Fracking is an extreme form of energy extraction the involves blasting millions of gallons of water, mixed with toxic chemicals and sand, at high pressure deep underground to retrieve oil and natural gas. Fracking is water intensive, opens the door for potential water contamination, has been linked to birth defects, can cause earthquakes and puts our farmland at risk.

As oil and gas companies search for more fossil fuels to extract, fracking operations continue to expand across the state. There is no place for fracking in Monterey, and we’re building a movement to stop fracking from harming our farm-rich, tourism-attracting, beautiful county.

RSVP to join us for this important event.

I hope to see you there,

Tia Lebherz
California Organizer
Food & Water Watch
tlebherz(at)fwwatch(dot)org

P.S. Free childcare will be provided at this event!

FOOD & WATER WATCH • 1616 P STREET NW, SUITE 300
WASHINGTON, DC 20036 • TEL: (202) 683-2500