I noticed two Cal Trans photos taken 5 days apart of the mess at Mud Creek which demonstrates the movement over a 5 day period – much greater than the 2-3 ft. I estimated.

This was posted 2/27, note the orange cones:

This was 3/4, again, note the orange cones:

Also, there is a great deal of confusion regarding Paul’s Slide. I posted this on FB this am:

“Okay, I looked back through my prior posts due to the confusion re Paul’s Slide and found this post indicating Paul’s Slide closed Saturday through this Wednesday 7AM-7PM. However, the Cal Trans Daily briefings ALSO say, Local travel from Ragged Point to Limekiln Bridge is DAY TIME ONLY. I’ve given up trying to reconcile internally inconsistent information from Cal Trans. Your guess is as good as mine re whether one can get through here after 7 pm. Apparently, one is not supposed to be north of Limekiln Bridge at all, AND one is not supposed to be on the road after dark. You decide what you are willing to risk, if you are a local. If you are a visitor, they are checking IDs, so please do not try it. I can understand why we are confused, but I am not sure I contributed to that, personally. If I did, I apologize.”

At this point, the southern crew has not been able to get through to check on Cow Cliffs, so as far as I know, that is still closed. Remember, it is the slide of the LARGE boulders. Anderson Slide appeared to be being worked on in the aerial photo I posted from Michael Troutman a few days ago, but do not know the current status.

PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Catherine Crockett at cm_crockett@sbcglobal.net or 831-915-7257
Organization: Aldo Mysterioso Productions & Big Sur After the Storm Relief Fund

More info: Michael Lojkovic, (831) 869-2819, mlojkovic@yahoo.com

Fun-raiser for Big Sur residents After the Storm

Date: Saturday, March 25, 2017
Time: 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM. Doors open 7:00 PM
Location: Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, 4th and Guadalupe, Carmel, (831) 624-7491
Admission: Tickets are $20-$100 sliding scale donation. Limited Seating – Advance purchase tickets recommended. Purchase tickets online at Eventbrite: https://big-sur-after-the-storm-3-25-17-fun-raiser.eventbrite.com

Optionally buy tickets in person at Pilgrim’s Way Books, Dolores St., between 5th and 6th Streets in Carmel, CA. For open hours, visit the website: http://www.pilgrimsway.com/ or phone 831-624-4955.

About the Event: This winter, Big Sur residents, workers, and businesses have been severely impacted by the wettest season on record. Flooding, mudslides, fallen trees, and road closures have left many stranded, without shelter, and in dire need of assistance. The public is invited to rally together to support the people of Big Sur and to experience a celebration of song, voices, healing, and generosity.

Michael Lojkovic, actor, playwright, screenwriter, and troubadour, will direct an extravaganza of music, literary genius, and joyful surprise that will delight the audience. Songs that uplift the spirit will be sung by a group of Wholehearted Chorus members, directed by Michael. The musical program will be interwoven with poetry and spoken word presentations by Special Guests. Baked goods and concessions will also be offered for sale to cover the use of the venue.

Event flyer: http://bit.ly/2mCO2Ai

Sponsored by: Aldo Mysterioso Productions & Big Sur After the Storm Relief Fund

About the sponsoring organization: The Big Sur After the Storm Relief Fund was created as a community arts production to raise funds, support, and loving awareness for the people of Big Sur impacted by the devastating storms this current winter season.

Soaring gave such a wonderful report on the resupply run as comments, I thought they should get a wider audience, so I am copying them here. Also, at the end, is a call for volunteers for the hiking trial building from Carissa.

From Soaring: “I’d like to post a heartfelt thank you to all who organized, planned and volunteered to make that epic delivery of supplies for us yesterday in Big Sur Island. Isa and I drove 4 miles down to a big mudslide on our dirt road, hiked over it and down to the highway where we joined our community at the PO. We visited and swapped stories while watching the helicopter fly over us to Post Ranch with slings of groceries and goods. Drivers brought flatbed trucks where the sling nets were often still attached to the loads, evidently there must have been some skilled placement by the pilot to position the heavy loads into the bed of each truck.
Volunteers sprang into action, climbing up, cutting open the wrappings and handing boxes over the side to waiting hands, with the boxes placed in groupings by area location on the coast. Neighbors came to pick up boxes for their neighbors. Andrew stopped by the Post Office and we gave him hugs and our mail that had been waiting for weeks to be sent.
A clipboard was passed to take names for volunteers to dig the walking trail around the bridge.
Patte Kronlund is an amazing and meticulous organizer, and the unloading and sorting and loading of boxes quickly and efficiently done, thanks to her pre-planning. We feel such gratitude for the fresh food and supplies, and for all who made it possible.”

Also, the wife of the Safeway manager organized a slew of volunteers to do the shopping for 58 families. They started their day at 3:30 am, and ended about 6 hours later. Soaring again writes of her “mystery shopper.”

“I understand there were many who volunteered to help by shopping for us… to clarify, someone named Haisley signed my grocery list at the end, with the words: “Health & Happiness”. Haisley checked off the items on the list and wrote next to the request for pomegranates – “sorry, none”, and made notes that they couldn’t find the item on the shelf next to another one… and that a substitution had to be made in a couple of cases. It was wonderful to read. Those little notes gave us a such a sense of the deep caring that went into this. It must have been so hard to walk the isles to find our requests for sometimes quirky, and obscure foods. It is hard enough to find groceries on shelves when I know what I’m shopping for, but to follow someone else’s shopping list, yikes. I tried to be as specific as possible, thinking that would be easiest, to give the best description I could, still, it must have been quite a hunt… We had a wonderful dinner last night. It was the best.”

Dear South of The Bridge Friends and Family
Regarding the walking trail across the State Park for access to the north, we collected names at the Post Office yesterday during the food resupply of people who would be willing to volunteer to help build the trail. If you’d like to add your name to the list please feel email me your contact information (phone and email if possible). Should we be allowed to help, I will notify you of what’s needed and when.

carissa@chappellet.com

The meaning of “community” – sometimes much larger than we think.

From Patte Kronlund:

58 Households order groceries at the Safeway at the Crossroads Shopping Center. The grocery delivery is being coordinated by Gerry Malais, the Director of the Monterey County OES, and will be air lifted to Post Ranch with distribution at the Big Sur Post Office at 10:30am tomorrow, March 3rd.

Heartwarming,
Patte

Patte Kronlund
CPOA Advisory Board

Patte,
I wanted to let you know the orders are ready for pick up. It was a real community effort as My wife Robin Montana from the middle school arranged for volunteers to come and shop for the families. We started at 3 am and will be 100% done by 12:30 PM. Everyone took a lot of pride in helping. Robin wanted to know if the middle school could send homework down to kids that can not commute to school, I gave her your number. Hope that’s ok?
Thanks,

Joe Miguel
Store Director
Carmel Safeway-2669-9

3/1/17

Today at 0930 we met with California Parks, Monterey District Supervisor, Brent Marshall, and John Hiles, in charge of Parks trail work and planning for the emergency trail. Present were myself, Big Sur Fire Chief, Martha Karstens, Kate Daniels representing Mary Adams, Monterey 5th District Supervisor, and representatives from State Senator Bill Monning.

The topic was planning for the creation of a viable foot trail between the south extent of the failing bridge and a point in the park that would allow safe foot traffic access for locals and essential personnel to maintain the sustainability of the community to the greatest degree possible under the emergency circumstances.

State Park management has made the following arrangements to support the plan. They have:

1. Obtained a permit to allow the construction of a trail as described
2. Established funding sufficient to provide the labor and materials needed to construct the trail
3. Crafted a contract with the California Conservation Corps to do the work, starting at their earliest opportunity, which at present is March 15, 2017
4. Estimated work to take 5 weeks, once started, which translates to completion on or about May 3, 2017. We have agreed that this is not an acceptable target date.
5. Agreed to support the formation of a volunteer crew to assist with the work under the sponsorship of the Big Sur Volunteer Fire Brigade, and this crew can be put to work under Parks supervision starting Monday AM, 3/6/17

While Parks has done an excellent job of bending their normal process to help support the emergency, we are concerned that the time line is too long to be the total solution we need for the residents and businesses. We are pursuing alternate versions of the plan to support the Parks in their legal and liability needs and to provide a more rapid resolution of the access crisis we are experiencing as the days mount up.

Chief Karstens will be the contact person for the formation of a work detail from the community and we will continue to work closely with Parks to augment their resources and logistics to help accelerate the time line and take the pressure off those who are suffering the greatest now and into the near term before the other access plans can be implemented

We now have substantial support from our political leadership at all levels of government and hope to provide the means and motivation to help Parks accelerate their plan to strategy the work and complete it as soon as possible.

Frank Pinney

Chief Emeritus

Dear Friends in Big Sur,

If you can safely make your way to our property, the small group of staff at Esalen would like to invite you to share some of our available resources. We’d ask that you call ahead to ensure the safety and welfare of all visitors as we can only support a limited group at a time.

Please call 831-667-3023 to reserve your space. Please bring a form of ID that includes a local Big Sur address.

Open 2-5 pm Daily to Locals Only
Fresh drinking water (please bring your own containers)
Access to baths (please bring your own towel and water bottle)
Thank You,

Patrick Sheridan
Director of Operations
Esalen Institute

831-250-1022 x254 / Carmel office

831-869-1195 / cell
831-667-2723 / on property

“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Good afternoon Stan and Kate,

Can you please help me get the word out to the public, vehicles currently parked in the large turn-out just north of Pfeiffer Cyn. Bridge will have to be moved BY MONDAY, MARCH 6, in anticipation of equipment and material mobilization. I understand the owners of many of these vehicle may be south of the bridge. If that is the case, we will tow them to the large “secure” parking lot at the MAF ON TUESDAY, MARCH 7.

I’ll also include this in tomorrow’s update.

Thanks so much in advance for your help in this regard. ☺

Susana Z. Cruz nature-flower-blue-motif[1]
Caltrans District 5
Acting Manager
Public Information Office

From Rick Aldinger:

Diana, Basil and I had a conference call with Lance Gorman and Susana Cruz regarding the status of the highway north of PCB. Lance and his engineers identified 4 locations of concern:

PPM 51.04
Highway shoulder just north of Andrew Molera campground road gate. Not a high priority at this time. Bank is sliding just off the highway shoulder, but roadbed seems fine.

PPM 54.4
North end of lighthouse flat. Roadbed is undermined under the southbound lane due to plugged culvert last week. High priority for highway to be opened to the public.

PPM 56.8
Large slide between Little Sur and Hurricane Point. High priority for highway to be opened to the public.

PPM 57.6
Guardrail and edge of highway shoulder starting to slide. Something to keep an eye on.

Cal Trans plans to have contracts signed today, and contractors on site by tomorrow. They will focus on ppm 54.5 and 56.8, and will be able to work concurrently on both. At 54.4, material needs to be replaced under the southbound lane and compacted, and then resurface. At 56.8, Cal Trans will consult with the contractor to determine if the remaining slide material is stable enough to simply let it come down on its own, and clean the road, or if they need to employ equipment to pull it down and haul it away.

Hopefully, by the end of this week, a better estimate can be made for the opening of the highway. In the meantime, either Lance or Susana will reach out to me with any updates.

Stay tuned.

Rick Aldinger
General Manager
Big Sur River Inn