The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Warning from 1/4/2023 6:17 PM to 1/5/2023 12:15 AM for the Big Sur Coast including the Colorado and Dolan Fire Burn Scars.
WHAT: Flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected.
WHERE: Some locations that will experience flooding include Salinas, Seaside, Monterey, Marina, Jamesburg, Tassajara Hot Springs, Arroyo Seco, Big Sur Village, Lucia, Gorda, Soledad, Greenfield, Pacific Grove, Gonzales, Carmel-By-The-Sea, Carmel Valley Village, Sycamore Flat, Cachagua Near The Los Padres Dam, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and San Clemente Dam. WHEN: Until 1145 PM PST Wednesday.
IMPACTS: Flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations is imminent or occurring.
PREPAREDNESS: Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Be especially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the dangers of flooding. In hilly terrain there are hundreds of low water crossings which are potentially dangerous in heavy rain. Do not attempt to cross flooded roads. Find an alternate route.
MONTEREY / SAN LUIS OBISPOCOUNTIES – Due to continuing issues with flowing water and debris in the roadway south of Ragged Point, the southern limit of the Highway 1 closure on the Big Sur coast has been moved 10 miles south of Ragged Point.
The new southern limit of the Highway 1 closure is at a parking lot by the elephant seals viewing area. This location is in San Luis Obispo County some four miles north of San Simeon.
Other than public safety agencies and emergency response teams, no other vehicles are permitted to enter the closure area. Caltrans maintenance crews will perform daytime storm patrols within the closure as long as they judge that it is safe to do so.
The cooperation from the traveling public in staying out of the closure area will ensure that Caltrans maintenance teams can respond safely to address any emerging areas of concern and that, if called upon, emergency response and public safety teams will be able to travel unimpeded within the closure.
Additionally, during overnight hours, gates will be closed across the roadway within the closure area at the north and south end of Paul’s Slide (PM 22).
There is no estimated time for reopening and additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
Crews are monitoring water and debris falling from above the roadway at a location named Polar Star, one mile south of Ragged Point. Crews will continue to monitor this concern and updates will be provided if the closure area needs to move south of Ragged Point.
With the soil already saturated by recent rain activity, and with heavy wind and rain in the forecast over the next days, it is anticipated that the roadway within the closure parameters will experience areas of slide activity, flooding, and rockfall.
Other than public safety agencies and emergency response teams, no other vehicles are permitted to enter the closure area. Caltrans maintenance crews will perform daytime storm patrols within the closure as long as they judge that it is safe to do so.
The cooperation from the traveling public in staying out of the closure area will ensure that Caltrans maintenance teams can respond safely to address any emerging areas of concern and that, if called upon, emergency response and public safety teams will be able to travel unimpeded within the closure.
Additionally, during overnight hours, gates will be closed across the roadway within the closure area at the north and south end of Paul’s Slide (PM 22).
Caltrans has activated its district emergency operation centers and we are working with local partners to respond and recover from the storm.
Additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
Caltrans QuickMap for Travel on All State Highways
For current traffic information about all roads within the state highway system, the Caltrans’ QuickMap mobile app and website provides travelers with continuous updates on lane and road closures due to construction and maintenance activities, emergency incidents, electronic highway message sign content, rest area locations, and highway camera snapshots.
A recent push notification feature on the QuickMap app allows drivers to automatically receive real-time notifications about nearby road closures, emergencies, and other traffic updates. See link for more information about this new feature: https://dot.ca.gov/news-releases/news-release-2022-031
[19] ^EB SR156 ONR TO NB 101 CLOSED FOR APPROX 1 HR DUE TO TREES DOWN / DETOUR TO VIERRA CANYON
12:06 PM
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[17] ^SR1 IN BIG SUR ARE STILL OPEN, CALTRANS WILL REASSES AT 1400 HRS
10:41 AM
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[16] 1039 MTRY COM
10:37 AM
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[14] ^THE EOC IS COORDINATING WITH THE CITY OF WATSONVILLE AND THE COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ TO SET UP A SHELTER
10:36 AM
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[13] ^CARMEL VALLEY LIBRARY AND PRUNEDALE LIBRARY WILL BE USED AS TEMPORARY EVACUATION POINTS AND WILL BE OPEN FROM 0800 HRS TO 1700 HRS WEDNESDAY JANUARY 4TH , THROUGH FRIDAY JANUARY 6
10:35 AM
9
[12] ^STORM PREPARATIONS ARE UNDERWAY and LOCAL EMERGENCY RESPONDERS ARE PREPARING and MOBILIZING HIGH WATER VEHS. STANDY SUPPORT FROM THE NATIONAL GUARD HAS BEEN REQUESTED
10:30 AM
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[11] ^HEAVY RAIN I ANTICIPATED TO BEGIN JANUARY 4, AND CONTINUE THROUGH JANUARAY 5TH. MORE RAIN WILL FOLLOW THROUGH THE WEEKEND
10:28 AM
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[10] ^ HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM JANUARY 0400 HRS UNTIL JANUARY 5TH, 1000 HRS
10:27 AM
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[9] ^FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM JANUARY 4TH 0400 HRS UNTIL JANUARY 5TH 1000 HRS
10:18 AM
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[8] ^KEY AREAS OF CONCERN INCLUDE: BOLSA KNOWLLS AREA; RIVER, COLORADO, AND DOLAN BURN SCARS; CARMEL RIVER LAGOON; SALINAS RIVER LAGOON; PAJARO RIVER; CHUALAR @ US101
10:14 AM
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[7] ^GENERAL SITUATION AWARENESS: ATMOSPHERIC RIVER IS APPROACHING THE COAST OF CA BRINGING RAIN and HIGH WINDS. HEAVY RAIN IS ANTICIPATED TO BEGIN WEDNESDAY JANUARY 4TH AND CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY JANUARY 5TH. MORE RAIN WILL FOLLOW THROUGH WEEKEND (SUNDAY JANUARY 8TH). SUSTAINED WINDS OF UP TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 60 MPH ARE ALSO ANTICIPATED DURING THIS TIME.
10:10 AM
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[6] ^OPERATIONAL PERIOD ENDS: 1/05/20233 AT 0700 HRS
10:10 AM
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[5] ^OPERATIONAL PERIOD START: 1/04/2023 AT 0700 HRS
10:10 AM
1
[4] ^PER MONTEREY CO 2023 WINTER STORM EMERG OPERATIONS ACTION PLAN 1/4/2023
Caltrans maintenance crews continue to patrol the roadway in advance of storms expected to arrive later this afternoon.
A full closure of the roadway may take place as early as 2 pm today.
Contracted crews made significant progress at Paul’s Slide (PM 22) over the last three days in removing debris from the catchment area in advance of additional slide activity expected there in upcoming days.
Additional updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.
This graphic shows Big Sur getting almost 14” of rain in the next 14 days. Highway 1 is not going to be pretty.
