Photos of Mud Creek (PM 8.9) from Saturday, March 24 and Aerials of Mud Creek (PM 8.9) and Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6) from Friday, March 23—Courtesy of John Madonna and labeled accordingly.

HIGHWAY 1 UPDATE – Monday, March 26
State Route 1 in Monterey County remains closed from north of Salmon Creek, just south of the Ranger Station (PM 3) to just south of Gorda (PM 10) due to the Mud Creek slide. State Route 1 south of Salmon Creek is accessible via State Route 1 in San Luis Obispo County near Ragged Point.

REMINDER: Travelers still CANNOT access the entire length of Highway 1 from Carmel to Cambria but local businesses are open on both sides of Mud Creek.

Mud Creek (PM 8.9)
Mud Creek had a major slide on Saturday, May 20, 2017, losing over 5 million cubic yards of material. Caltrans continues with its plan to realign the existing terrain with the projected timeline to safely open to public traffic is late-summer 2018 at an estimated cost of $40 million.

This week: The same ongoing operations continued: placing rock at the toe, building up the north fill, and excavating material below the new alignment to finished grade.

There is currently no public/local access through the Mud Creek area since this remains an active, emergency construction zone.

Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6)
Three days of daytime closures from 6 am to 7 pm each day have been in effect since Saturday, March 24 through today, Monday, March 26. Motorists have been able to go through Paul’s prior to 6 am or after 7 pm on those three days. Paul’s Slide resumes its opening under the 24/7 traffic signal and temporary guardrail (k-rail) in the centerline as of 7 pm today, Monday, March 26, weather permitting.

 

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Helicopter Hoist Rescue at Arroyo Seco River 03/25/2018

At approximately 1705 on Sunday March 25, 2018 Greenfield Fire Protection District, City of Soledad Fire Department and CAL FIRE responded to a report of a truck in the middle of the Arroyo Seco River with two persons trapped in the bed of the truck. This was reported to be in the area of Arroyo Seco Rd and Cedar Ave. The water was approximately 4 feet deep and flowing at a fast pace. First arriving fire resources determined that a helicopter was needed for the rescue.

CAL FIRE Copter 406, from Bear Valley Helitack Base, arrived at scene, assessed the situation from the air, accepted the rescue and rigged the helicopter for a hoist rescue. This technical exercise requires specialized rescue skills that the staff of Copter 406 train for regularly. A firefighter was lowered by mechanical hoist from the helicopter and rigged the victims to be lifted from the pickup. The successful rescue took approximately 15 minutes from arrival of the helicopter. Victims were flown to the shore assessed for injuries and released.

Soledad FD partners in a cooperative agreement with CAL FIRE for fire services. Soledad FD staffs one engine in the city 24/7 with two firefighters.

Who:​​Soledad FD/CAL FIRE/ Greenfield Fire
What:​​Helicopter Hoist Rescue
When:​​March 25th 2018 at approximately 1705
Where:​​Arroyo Seco River, Soledad (Monterey County)