Volunteers with the Ventana Wilderness Alliance (VWA) greet backpackers at the Pine Ridge Trailhead adjacent to the Big Sur Station parking lot. The Trailhead Ambassador Program (TAP) is in place to make visitors feel welcome to the wilderness and answer questions but also to educate them on fire safety and Leave No Trace Practices without lecturing. This program is a partnership with the VWA and USFS.
VWA is currently looking for volunteers that would like to participate in the program. Volunteers would pick up supplies at Big Sur Station and set up at the trailhead. Best days would be Saturday mornings, but other days could work. Hours can vary, but preferably between 9AM and 1or 2 PM. You would work alongside of a volunteer Wilderness Ranger until comfortable working alone or together with another volunteer.
After seeing the article in the Pine Cone on Thursday saying Nacimiento would open in Sept, in light of the most recent forest order of closure we all received indicating closure until July 2025 (see https://bigsurkate.blog/2024/07/19/new-forest-closure-order-until-july-2025/, I contacted Chris Counts of the Pine Cone. Based on what he said, I then contacted Andrew Marsden and Fin. Andrew is on vacation, but Fin got back to me and let me know that the date in the order was just a date far enough out so it would cover all contingencies, but that yes, the goal was to get all road systems in our portion of the LPNF open sometime in September, after Labor Day, but date TBD. Once the determination is made as to when exactly the forest and roads will be safe to open to the public, I will post that information here.
05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:
Kevin Drabinski or Genelle Padilla
Phone:
(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UPDATE #2
MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans will continue with emergency repairs to Highway 1 near the Rocky Creek Bridge, 12 miles south of Carmel. Caltrans previously stabilized and reinforced Highway 1 at this location after a March 30 slipout resulted in a loss of a section of the southbound lane.
Daytime repair work will take place in the Rocky Creek project area behind concrete barriers known as K-rail and should not result in any significant travel delays. Daytime travelers will continue to enjoy access through the repair site driving on the northbound lane and directed by a temporary signal system. All Big Sur businesses are open.
Overnight work will be scheduled five nights a week, Sunday through Thursday night, on a consistent schedule from 10 pm to 6 am. No overnight work will take place on Friday or Saturday nights.
There will be two types of traffic impacts associated with overnight work. These will involve either intermittent delays of up to one-hour or full overnight closures of the highway.
When repair work involves the occasional movement of equipment and machinery across the entire width of the project area, this will result in intermittent delays of up to one hour, Sunday through Thursday nights form 10 pm to 6 am. These intermittent one-hour delays for overnight work will be a recurring feature of the Rocky Creek repair work.
When equipment and machinery are required to work across the full width of the project area throughout the entire overnight shift, this will result in a full closure of the highway, Sunday through Thursday nights form 10 pm to 6 am. No travel will be permitted through the repair site during full overnight closures.
Upcoming Repair Schedule Update
For the week of Sunday July 28, travelers will encounter intermittent delays of up to one hour for five nights, from Sunday July 28, through Thursday August 1, from 10 pm to 6 am.
For the week of Sunday August 4, travelers will encounter a full overnight closure of Highway 1 at Rocky Creek for five nights, from Sunday August 4 through Thursday August 8, from 10 pm to 6 am. Further updates will be provided if there is a change to this schedule.
The estimate for completion of the Rocky Creek viaduct is summer 2025 and is dependent on conditions encountered during construction. The contractor for this project is Gordon N. Ball, Inc. of Alamo, CA.
Highway 1 remains closed 40 miles south of Carmel due to the Regent’s Slide which is expected to be cleared by late fall of this year.
Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: X/Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.
It was day 2 of the fire, and a photographer friend and former firefighter, Mike Morales, was out before dawn so he could get these next two photos:
This will trigger so many people who still have PTSD from this fire, as it looked like Armageddon. So many photos from so many people, and over 50 people commented to tell what they saw. For me, Big Sur Kate: the blog, exploded. I hope none of us ever have to live through something like this again — all from an abandoned campfire. If you wonder why we are so sensitive to campfires, maybe reading this 8 year old blog post will give you some perspective.
From Mark Readdie of Big Creek, exclusive to bigsurkate:
They have to deal with daily unpredictability at the Regent’s Slide. The work is complicated by significant instability of the rocky material they are encountering and the steep slope they’re working on. They are diligently working every day they can (when it’s not socked in with fog and when the slide isn’t falling apart) but all I can say is it’s slow going. Every day they have to check for new cracks above and below the working bench. The material below the bench is falling apart on its own. I watched twice now in the past few weeks where huge rocks just came off by themselves below the work bench. The spider excavators are cabled to bulldozers in case the whole thing goes.
Here is a video Mark took that he shared with me. This will give everyone some perspective.
Came home to find that a bear had torn thru a screened window. He then helped himself to a couple boxes of cereal and other things, and made his way thru the house. He located my long-term food storage closet, but was not able to get in. Something or someone may have startled him so he jumped on my bed and out another window. Screen found on ground outside window.
the drips are just something I dropped on my wall that I hadn’t gotten around to cleaning up yet. Guess I will now!
05 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties
Contact:
Kevin Drabinski or Genelle Padilla
Phone:
(805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3237
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OVERNIGHT CLOSURES ON HIGHWAY 1 AT ROCKY CREEK NORTH OF BIG SUR TO BEGIN MONDAY JULY 22
MONTEREY COUNTY – Caltrans announced today that it will move to the next phase of emergency repairs to Highway 1 south of the Rocky Creek Bridge starting Monday, July 22, which will include partial and full overnight closures.
Caltrans stabilized and reinforced Highway 1 at this location after a March 30slipout resulted in a loss of part of the southbound lane. Since May 17, travelers have had 24/7 access through the repair site using the northbound lane by means of a temporary signal system.
From Monday, July 22, to Thursday, July 25, travelers will encounter partial overnight closures of Highway 1 at Rocky Creek between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. with delays of up to one hour. Crews will use these partial closures to reposition the existing K-rail and place temporary striping to allow for construction activities in the southbound lane.
Full overnight closures of Highway 1 at Rocky Creek will also be necessary intermittently for the remaining repair work and will be scheduled when equipment needs to be deployed across the entire roadway. Unlike the partial closures, no travel through the work zone will be permitted during the full overnight closures.
The first of five consecutive full overnight closure will begin Sunday, July 28:
Sunday, July 28 at 10 p.m. to Monday, July 29 at 6 a.m.
Monday, July 29 at 9 p.m. to Tuesday, July 30 at 6 a.m.
Tuesday, July 30 at 9 p.m. to Wednesday, July 31 at 6 a.m.
Wednesday, July 31 at 9 p.m. to Thursday, August 1 at 6 a.m.
Thursday, August 1 at 9 p.m. to Friday, August 2 at 6 a.m.
There will be no overnight work scheduled on Friday or Saturday nights.
Caltrans expects to complete repairs at Rocky Creek in summer 2025, and that estimate is dependent on conditions encountered during construction.
Regular updates will be provided to keep the public informed about the construction schedule.
The contractor for this project is Gordon N. Ball, Inc. of Alamo.
Road information and updates can also be found on Caltrans District 5 Social Media platforms: X/Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5.
