Here are the photos taken by Brendon Shave. My understanding from information provided to me is that the young man is local, from Monterey and only 18 years old. He was with 3-4 other friends. As of this writing he has not been found, nor any body recovered. I had a ton of photos that I kept whittling down to these 11. It still takes a while to load.
**48-HOUR TRAFFIC ADVISORY UPDATE**
OF TEMPORARY CLOSURE HIGHWAY 1 AT MUD CREEK/PAUL’S SLIDE
MONTEREY COUNTY — Caltrans has received confirmation from National Weather Service (NOAA) data that a significant storm is in the forecast to begin in approximately the next 24-hours for the areas of Mud Creek (PM 8.9) and Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6) on State Route 1 in the Big Sur area.
This advisory is to inform the public to be prepared for closure of the roadway tentatively scheduled for mid-day Monday, Jan. 14 due to a significant storm. Stand-by for additional information within the next 24 hours and a final notice will be sent when the roadway closes. Caltrans will have our Geotech, Maintenance and Construction units on call and prepared to inspect/clean up during daylight hours when the storm ends and it is safe to be onsite again.
The gates on either side of Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide will be key locked. These gates will not be manned when the highway is closed. No one, including Emergency Services or Caltrans employees will be allowed access until a proper assessment can be made and any necessary cleanup has been completed.
NOTE: These advisories apply only to the Mud Creek and Paul’s Slide areas with each closure being treated separately–both locations will close tentatively on mid-day Monday, Jan. 14. Please stand-by for additional information within the next 24 hours.
11:00 am – from the NOAA forecast: “However, the next system will take aim at late in the day on Sunday. At this time, it looks like the southern portion of the Central Coast will see the rain first during the late afternoon noon hours, with the rain spreading north and east through the evening and overnight hours. This system will be similar to the last one in the fact that the bulk of the rainfall will be centered on the Big Sur coast line and areas south, with this area potentially seeing another inch or two of rain.”
9:45 am – Regardless of which model you believe, we are going to get a helluva lot of rain this coming week. Look at these two models:
As of 8:30 am – Highway One is still closed between Ragged Point and Deetjen’s. But just received notice the closure will be opened at 11 am.
Per NWS: “Precipitation forecast from the GFS through next Thursday. After a brief dry break from Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning, next week looks very wet with rain expected in every six-hour time step from Sunday afternoon through Thursday.”
Note: my two regular features (Photo Sunday & Tourist Tuesday) MAY be suspended until the storm door closes.
I received notice this morning after midnight (I was asleep and just got up for a few moments at 3 am) that CHP requested Cal Trans close the highway at Fuller’s (MM 42) and Ragged Point at 10:11 pm. Cal Trans closure were to be set up 20 minutes later at Fuller’s and 1-2 hours at Ragged Point due to small slides in numerous locations.
