Month: June 2018

Highway Closure Update, 6/20/18

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Photos of Mud Creek: 1) Installing north drainage pipe. 2) North fill.

HIGHWAY 1 UPDATE – Tuesday, June 19

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. This is the last closure point along Big Sur. When it opens by the end of July, Hwy. 1 from Cambria to Carmel will be open to through traffic.

 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. Caltrans will continuously evaluate the opening date as work progresses so we anticipate providing an update in July. It’s expected that even after the highway is re-open, intermittent lane closures and roadwork may continue. The updated current cost is at $54 million.

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

This week: installed 42″ drainage pipes and repaired south approach slip out. Next week—Continuing work on North fill. 

Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6)

 

Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6)

Crews will be doing a scaling operation at Paul’s on Friday, June 22 from 7 am to 4 pm with up to ½-hour delays for traffic.  The scaling at Paul’s is part of future roadwork in preparation for next winter

 ADDITIONAL WORK—CALPORTLAND PAVING BETWEEN LUCIA (PM 23) AND JUST SOUTH OF PCB (45.52)

Final items continue taking place. Post Ranch rockery repair was completed last week. No work scheduled for this week. Project is near completion.

Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway work zones.

The next update will be on Monday, June 25.

(Well, 10 years in, and I finally learned how to make the color of the type red? Or did wordpress add this function, and I just now noticed?)

Tourist Tuesday6/19/18

After being closed for 3 years, Mariposa Grove in Yosemite is finally open. It had to close for 3 years to rehabilitate the area from overuse to protect the giant redwoods. We will be in the same situation, if we don’t develop solutions. We must have a plan or our children will have to develop a plan to “correct the sins of the past.”

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”YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — After being closed to the public for nearly three years, Mariposa Grove, the storied forest of giant sequoia trees at Yosemite National Park first set aside for protection by Abraham Lincoln, [reopened] Friday morning following completion of a $40 million restoration project.”

…

“But crumbling asphalt pavement, aging pit toilets, traffic jams and a diesel tourist tram tarnished the area. The restoration project, the largest in park history, aims to restore natural serenity and take pressure off the massive trees’ fragile root systems while also improving the flow of water to help the forest thrive in generations to come.”

…

“It had been compromised,” said Dean, a former Yosemite ranger of the grove. “These trees are super-resilient. But we don’t want them to fail on our watch. This area has continued to be chipped away at with the best of intentions. What we’re doing is correcting for the sins of the past.”

For the rest of the article, go to : https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/06/13/yosemite-largest-restoration-project-in-park-history-opens-friday-at-mariposa-grove/

Busted lock on gate & rude tourists

Had my lock broken off so a car full of tourist could get in. Description: White Subaru, license 7TNX840. 2 Asian men, 2 Asian females, 20s. I hope this works, as I normally don’t upload videos. Fortunately, my son, Brendon Shave caught them. I called and reported to USFS-PV Station to BOLO and then called MCSO to report them.

Highway 1: Road Conditions 6/17-23

                               ROAD AND LANE CLOSURES SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 17 – JUNE 23

 

MONTEREY COUNTY – Here are the major scheduled road and lane closures for Monterey County fromSunday, June 17 through Saturday, June 23 – newest information is in red. Please keep in mind that construction work is weather-dependent.

Highway 1 Storm Repair Along the Big Sur Coast
Due to past slides, State Route 1 is now closed at the Ranger Station North Ragged Point Inn and at Mud Creek.

Highway 1 – Carmel: June 18 – June 21 
Caltrans will perform highway pavement maintenance on State Route 1 south of Carmel Highlands for four days beginning Monday, June 18. Motorists can expect one-way reversing traffic control from8 am until 2 pm in the following locations:

There will be electronic message boards alerting the public of these lane closures and traffic control.  The California Highway Patrol (CHP) will be present to ensure a safe environment for everyone.  Motorists can expect delays not to exceed 10 minutes.

Highway 1 Climbing Lane Project: June 18 – June 22
The Climbing Lane project will move into Phase 1B this week with both day and overnight work.

Here is what is happening this week:

Work will include paving Highway 1 between Carmel River Bridge and Carmel Valley Road and the south east corner of Rio Road as well as moving cement barriers to change the traffic flow on Rio Road from the north to south side by Thursday morning

Drivers wishing to avoid the intersection may detour to Carmel Valley Road and Carmel Rancho Boulevard. All business and shopping centers remain open during construction.

Sign up to receive text message alerts by texting Climbinglane to 888777.

Highway 68 – Monterey to Laguna Seca: June 18– June 22
Night time road work along Highway 68 between highway 1 and Laguna Seca from will result in lane closures and delays 7:30 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Highway 68 – Salinas River: June 18 – June 22
There will be alternating lane closures on eastbound and westbound Highway 68 between Spreckles Blvd and Reservation Road for bridge work. The work will occur from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mondaythrough Friday.

Highway 101 – Greenfield to Salinas: June 18 – June 22
Daytime vegetation spraying Highway 101 between Espinosa Road in Greenfield and Boronda Road in Salinas from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

FOR ALL UPDATES AS THEY ARE RELEASED, GO TO THE TAMC WEBSITE, HERE:

http://www.tamcmonterey.org/cone-zone-report-12/

Board of Supervisor’s Meeting re STRs 6/19/2018

The Board meeeting starts at 9 am, but STRs are scheduled for 10:30 am. I did not download anything other than the 2 maps re STRS, but if you go to the county website, here Mo Co Main Page and on the bottom is the link to the Board of Supervisors Meetings.

These two maps may be of interest to some of you. If so, I suggest you download them, so that you can enlarge them.

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Highway One Road Work next weeki

Today’s Date: Thursday, June 14, 2018

District:           05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito and Santa     Cruz Counties

Contact:          Susana Z Cruz (bilingual) or Colin Jones

Phone:            (805) 549-3138 or 549-3189

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CALTRANS TO PERFORM MAINTENANCE PAVIG ON STATE ROUTE 1 SOUTH OF CARMEL HIGHLANDS STARTING MONDAY

MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans will perform highway pavement maintenance on State Route 1 south of Carmel Highlands for four days beginning Monday, June 18. Motorists can expect one-way reversing traffic control from 8 am until 2 pm in the following locations:

There will be electronic message boards alerting the public of these lane closures and traffic control.  The California Highway Patrol (CHP) will be present to ensure a safe environment for everyone.  Motorists can expect delays not to exceed 10 minutes.

This work will be performed by the Caltrans Monterey Maintenance team resulting in a Smooth ride for all travelers.

Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway work zones.

For more information on this project and for traffic updates on other Caltrans projects in

Monterey County, residents can call the District 5 toll free number at 1-831-372-0862 or

Can visit our website at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist05/paffairs/release.htm#mon

Susana Z. Cruz

Caltrans District 5

Public Information Officer

RX Burn at FHL on Weds

FHL Police were stopping people at the intersection of Nacimiento and Mission and not allowing west bound traffic, at least as of 11:30 am, per reports and what we witnessed as we passed by. Many were turn around and forced to go all the way around to get home – that is a long a$$ way!!

We were stopped around 11:30 on the West side of Stoney Valley for this burn out. We were held up for about 20 minutes or so – in the sun – in 96º temps. These are some of the photos I took. I can see why it was closed. The fire was right up to the road and the firefighters were IN the road. We were escorted.

I’ve tried to upload the sequence, but my blog goes into cardiac arrest when I try to upload 18 photos. So here are a couple. More later, I have to convert some “live” shots to regular photos, first.

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Succulent Poachers plead guilty in Humbolt, 6/13/18

California Fish and Wildlife News

 Link to CDFW News
Succulent Plant Poachers Convicted in Humboldt County

Posted: 12 Jun 2018 03:04 PM PDT

Three defendants in a succulent plant poaching case out of Humboldt County have each pled guilty to two felonies and other misdemeanor charges, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office announced. Felony convictions included conspiracy and false filings with the government, and misdemeanor convictions included removal of plant material from public lands and commercial sales of plants removed from public lands.

The succulent plants at the center of the investigation are called Dudleyas. They grow in unique niches close to the coastline, typically on cliffsides immediately adjacent to the water. The poachers had a network of buyers in Korea and China, where Dudleya are valued as a trendy houseplant.

Removal of Dudleya, or any vegetation in sensitive habitat, can result in environmental degradation of habitat and a destabilization of bluffs and cliffs on the coastline. Some Dudleya species are rare or at risk of extinction.

Wildlife officers worked extensively with allied law enforcement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Postal Service inspectors to track down and collect evidence of poaching the succulent plants for sale overseas. During the investigation, wildlife officers witnessed the three removing plants from coastal bluffs in the Humboldt Lagoons State Park. On April 4, officers found the trio in possession of 2,300 Dudleya plants and more than $10,200 in cash.

All three defendants were foreign nationals. Liu Fengxia, 37, of China, and Tae-Hun Kim, 52, and Tae-Hyun Kim, 46, both from Korea, were handed a sentence of three years and eight months in state prison and a $10,000 fine each. Judge John T. Feeney suspended the prison sentences with the conditions that the defendants are prohibited from entering the United States without prior authorization of the federal government and state courts, and prohibited from entering any local, state or national park.

In addition to the fines, the defendants will also forfeit the $10,200 to CDFW as restitution. These funds will be used specifically for the conservation of Dudleya on public lands in Humboldt County.

“Together with prosecuting Deputy District Attorney Adrian Kamada and the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office, we hope this conviction and sentencing will send a message to those who may consider poaching California’s precious natural resources to sell overseas for personal profit,” said David Bess, CDFW Deputy Director and Chief of Law Enforcement.

The case developed from a tip from a member of the public who saw something amiss. Anyone who believes they are witness to unlawful poaching or pollution activity is encouraged to call CalTIP, CDFW’s confidential secret witness program, at (888) 334-2258 or send a text with the tip411 app. Both methods allow the public to provide wildlife officers with factual information to assist with investigations. Callers may remain anonymous, if desired, and a reward can result from successful capture and prosecution.

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Beaver Fire, San Benito Co, 6/12/18

UPDATE 8:00 pm from Cal Fire BEU:

“Update #BeaverFire as of 7:50pm 6/12/18 the fire is being held at 250 Acres and 25% containment No structures lost or threatened. Crews continue to make positive gains.”

UPDATE 5:10 – Beaver fire up to 200 acres.

UPDATE 4:20 pm – fire is now 150 acres.

East of Lockwood: @CAL_FIRE at scene 20-acre fire Coalinga Rd, Bitterwater (San Benito Co) #BeaverFire. There is a Cal Fire Station there. SLO has sent a dozer, and T74 and T75 are flying out of Paso Robles. These hills are extremely dry. Lots of grass.