Vehicle over the Edge JSO of Lucia and Fire at Coast Gallery (separate incidents)

At 7:45 pm, highway one was shut down to facilitate recovery of the vehicle from the cliff.

From CHP: CHP reports this as a fatality, once they were able to reach the driver.

Detail Information4:09 PM12[22] A27-014 THE WITN 1097 W/ 14 AT THE SCENE4:05 PM11[20] [Notification] [CHP]-WHEN H70 COMES UP ON THE AIR, REQ ETA FOR MTRY COM4:01 PM10[18] 2 CUSTOMERS AT GORDA WHALE WATCHERS CAFE WITN THE TC 4:01 PM9[17] [Rotation Request Comment] 1039 CALIF W/HVY DUTY3:59 PM8[15] REQ 1185 EVID HVY DUTY3:59 PM7[14] [Notification] [CHP]-SALCOMM TRANS RP OVER WHO WITN TC, WAS TAKING PICS AND SAW A SMALL RED VEH HEADING NB HEARD SCREETCHING THEN VEH HIT A SIGN AND WENT DOWN, POSS A FORD MUST OR HOND, VEH APPEARED TO HAVE HIT DIRT AND LOST CONTROL RP STATED A VEH FULL OF XRAYS WAS CAME CLOSE TO BEING INV3:58 PM6[12] POSS 1144 ONE SUBJ EJECT / VEH APPX 300 FT DOWN ON THE BEACH3:49 PM5[11] 1039 S13:47 PM4[8] PER MTRY COM, RESCUE TEAM ENRT 3:32 PM3[5] VEH MAY HAVE GONE DOWN APPROX 200 FT3:32 PM2[4] SEV VEHS PULLED OVER ON RS, NOT INV3:31 PM1[2] VEH OVER THE SIDE Unit Information3:33 PM2Unit Assigned3:33 PM1Unit Enroute

Was reported to me as at Coast Gallery, and only 10×10′ spot. Now how did that get started? I’ve been in town south, so a tad slow on this, but windy as heck up here at Peidras Blancas.

03/31/2015 13:40 LPF-788
Grimes Wildfire MM 1 41.1 M . 7EDW1 BC11LPF PAT18LPF Q Steve Dean Effective 15:48, 03/31/2015 Pompus grass .1 36.205 x 121.736

Scheduled USFS Road Closures in Big Sur

 

20S05.3 Central Coast Ridge Road

Tuesday March 10, 2015 – Thursday April 16, 2015

Road closed during construction.

 

20S05.4 South Coast Ridge Road

Thursday April 16, 2015 – Monday April 20, 2015 – 30 minute closures 8:00am through 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.

Road closed from Tuesday April 21, 2015 – 0630 through Friday April 24, 2015 1200 noon.

Friday April 24, 2015 – 1200 noon – Tuesday April 28, 2015 – 30 minute closures 8:00am through 5:00pm, Monday through Friday.

 

Vegetation Fire in Prunedale

4:30 pm update – 1 and 1/2 acres, reporting it is under control now and mop up efforts underway. 

3:15 pm

Fire crews battle vegetation fire in Prunedale

CalFire confirms crews are trying to put out a half acre fire near Highway 156 and McGuffie Road in Prunedale.

I have been unable to locate anything further. Like I said, Fire Season has started, if it ever ended.

Fire Season starts In March this year

This afternoon, there were two separate abandoned campfire along South Coast Ridge Rd – one at 1/4 mile in, one at 1/2. One at 12:30 pm, another at 3:30 pm. PLEASE be responsible! People, as well as precious wildlife and flora live here. Don’t destroy our home.

at 12:53 this afternoon, I got the followng email:

“Hey Kate…..just heard a dispatch for veg fire at Naciemento River an Bryson/Hisperia…..B3414, Engines 4694, 3482, 3483, 3477, D3442, Ques. crew 5…..got to be a mutual aid to there, that’s in M/C [Monterey County] area.”

“….sort of sounds like it might be back by copperhead, at the back side of Bryson/hysperia….”

“That have D3442 an WT50 staging right now at where ever there location is…….wonder if they’re getting a handle on it.”

And at 1:41 pm – “They just cancelled Ques. 5 an 3477.”

Fortunately, it looks like it was handled rather quickly, but it certainly is a heads-up for this season, and with the large influx of “guests,” this fire season could be a long one. We can only hope and pray, but it sure is early.



Upcoming Highway One work

So…. What’s new? Highway One is ALWAYS being worked on. It is a road that tries to defy Mother Nature, and as such, she requires constant attention. What is new, is that now, Cal Trans lets us know about anticipated work. This week, it will be here:

Sunday, March 29 through Sunday, April 5, 2015 – newest information is in redPlease keep in mind that construction work is weather-dependent.

 

Highway 1 – Big Sur Coast: March 30 – April 3

  • Daytime roadwork at two locations along Highway 1 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • The locations are:
    • Salmon Creek Ranger Station for slope clearing.
    • Pfeiffer Burns State Park to Ocean Avenue for vegetation spraying.
  • Motorists can expect delays of approximately 10 minutes

Earth Day



March 29, 2015                                                      For Immediate Release

Free 

Third Annual

Big Sur Earth Day Fair

Sunday April 12, 2015 from 1 – 5 at

Henry Miller Memorial Library

48603 Hwy One, Big Sur

*In case of rain, the Fair will be held at the Grange*

Hwy 1 & Juan Higuera Creek

Please carpool, take bus?line 22 stops @ Nepenthe @12:15, lvs 4 pm

Come help us celebrate Earth Day:

         Take a tour through the CHEERS Trash Museum (as seen on tv)

         Make a smoothie by pedaling a bike

 

             View the environmental displays

             See the up-cycled treasures for purchase

             Participate in the Earth Games – for adults & children of all ages

Let your small children play in the preschool area

Enjoy fresh, organic, yummy foods and nutritious beverages

Experience our surprise musical masters of ceremony, drums, guitars and singers. 

Tour the tables and booths of the Monterey Bay Master Gardeners, Ventana Wilderness Alliance and many other local organizations

Presented by Big Sur Advocates for a Green Environment (B-SAGE) 

FRACKING Moratorium narrowly defeated

Form the Monterey Herald …

Temporary fracking ban rejected by Monterey County supervisors
By Jim Johnson, Monterey Herald
POSTED: 03/17/15, 8:25 PM PDT | UPDATED: 16 HRS AGO
Salinas >> Arguing there’s no evidence of an immediate threat to public health, a split Board of Supervisors declined on Tuesday to move ahead with a temporary ban on the controversial oil extraction technique known as fracking, at least until the state finalizes its own rules.

Asked to consider a 45-day urgency ordinance prohibiting hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and other similar oil well stimulation techniques ­— as unanimously recommended by the county Planning Commission nearly 11 months ago — a narrow board majority indicated they preferred to allow the state to finish implementing its regulations for well stimulation treatment, which could take effect this summer.

Supervisor Simon Salinas, whose South County district includes active oil fields, counseled waiting on any local rules until the state has a chance to complete its work.

“We can’t regulate the (oil and gas) industry county by county,” Salinas said. “I think we ought to give (the state) a chance and then monitor it.”

Supervisor John Phillips indicated doubts about whether the county could find there was a legal basis for a moratorium, which requires an immediate threat to public health or safety. Phillips noted that there is no known fracking operation, nor any fracking applications, in the county, and argued that any attempt to secure a use permit would stretch beyond implementation of the state’s rules.

“I question whether there’s a basis for the moratorium,” the retired judge said. “If not, let’s just wait until (the state rules are finished).”

During more than an hour of public comment, oil industry representatives, oil field workers and others spoke against a local ban and praised the economic impact of energy production, while a number of speakers argued the potential environmental damage of fracking should outweigh other considerations, and openly doubted the state’s capacity for monitoring its effects.

The supervisors also heard a report on the state’s developing regulations and county staff work on local Title 21 land use rule changes related to oil and gas exploration in Monterey County.

The state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources is expected to certify an environmental impact report on fracking on July 1, when the state’s new rules are set to take effect.

Supervisor Jane Parker proposed allowing county staff to return later with a rationale for the temporary ban, but the board voted 3-2 against with Supervisor Fernando Armenta joining Salinas and Phillips in the majority.

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The proposed local fracking rules would require property owners proposing the use of well stimulation treatments on new or existing wells to obtain a county use permit under certain development standards, shift review of use permit applications from the zoning administrator to the Planning Commission, and prohibit exploration and removal of oil and gas in residential areas.

Also Tuesday, Phillips asked county officials to discuss a local approach to addressing the potential impact of hundreds of trains carrying millions of gallons of crude oil through Monterey County to an expanded Santa Maria oil refinery owned by Phillips 66.

The supervisor noted that the trains would likely run through North County and the Elkhorn Slough, threatening the prospect of extensive damage from a train crash and oil spill in the environmentally sensitive preserve.

Earlier this month, Santa Cruz County supervisors voted to oppose the project, joining the cities of San Luis Obispo, San Jose, Berkeley and Richmond, though the opposition is largely symbolic because local governments can’t restrict railroad traffic.

Jim Johnson can be reached at 726-4348.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jim Johnson
Jim Johnson covers Monterey County government and water issues for the Monterey Herald. Reach the author at jjohnson@montereyherald.com or follow Jim on Twitter: @JimJohnson_MCH.

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