Geomagnetic storm is bringing Northern Lights to the South Coast. Taken on iPhone from the Hermitage bench since the coast is fogged in. this substorm peaked before 8pm photos by Matthew Janson.

I personally have viewed this film and think it is a wonderful piece that shows us in the Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI) or just in the Wildland, how to survive wildfires with our homes intact. I was incredibly impressed with this film.

I recommended this film called Reimaging Wildfire to Ryne who passed it on to the Grange, who has obtained permission to screen this movie and I think it will be a worthwhile event. As well as showing the film, there will be a Q&A panel afterwards with Matt Harris, Rayner Marx and Chanel Keller of the Esselen Tribe. We also got lucky and Ralph Bloemers- the Executive Producer will also attend. 

Film ELEMENTAL: REIMAGINE WILDFIRE

Friday October 18th at 6:30 pm at the Big Sur Grange.

The film is 84 minutes long, and will be followed by a Q&A
Elemental: Reimagine Wildfire takes viewers on a journey with the top experts in the nation to better understand fire. We follow the harrowing escape from Paradise as the town ignited from wind-driven embers and burned within a few hours of the fire’s start. The film continues to the even more recent fires when California, Oregon, and Colorado suffered some of our worst wildfires in recorded history – when the 2020 windstorm resulted in five simultaneous “megafires”.
The film visits fire labs where researchers torch entire houses to learn why some homes burn and others survive. They learn from Native Americans as they employ fire to benefit nature and increase community safety as they have for thousands of years. They follow researchers who work to understand the effects of climate on forests and the crucial role that natural forests play in storing vast amounts of carbon.
ELEMENTAL: REIMAGINE WILDFIRE is captivating and powerfully informative as we grapple with heat waves, drought, and more fire, ELEMENTAL: REIMAGINE WILDFIRE is a timely and important look at discovering how we can all reimagine our relationship with wildfire.
Q&A Panel:
Matt Harris-
Fire Chief, Big Sur Fire
Rayner Marx
NFPA® Certified Wildfire Mitigation Specialist-Fire Adapted Big Sur Chanel Keller-
Esselen Trible- Cultural Fire Practitioner
Special Guest: Executive Producer Ralph Bloemer
Over the past two years Ralph has investigated the causes of fires, documented wildlife in burned landscapes, volunteered his time to rebuild trails in fire burned areas and spent time in these forests with firefighters, expert scientists and ecologists. Ralph has helped the public, decision makers and students confront the dominant cultural beliefs about fire, and understand the paradoxes that mark our relationship with it.

UPDATE #13 (10/9/2024) NEXT PHASE OF REPAIRS TO HIGHWAY 1 AT ROCKY CREEK TO INCLUDE FULL OVERNIGHT CLOSURESMONTEREY 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 slip-out resulted in a loss of a section of the southbound lane. Upcoming Repair Schedule Drilling and casting of reinforced concrete columns will result in a series of full overnight closures of Hwy. 1 at Rocky Creek. Travelers can expect the following full overnight closures and intermittent daytime closures:Full overnight closures of Hwy. 1 at Rocky Creek will take place on Wednesday Oct. 9 and Thursday Oct. 10, from 10 pm to 6 am.The previously scheduled full overnight closure for Friday Oct. 11, has been cancelled and rescheduled. It will now take place on Thursday Oct. 17, from 10 pm to 6 am.For the week of October 13, daytime travelers can expect intermittent delays of up to 20 minutes as crews bring equipment on site for continued excavation work.Also, for the week of Oct. 13, there is the possibility of one additional overnight closure. An update will be provided when the schedule of this closure is confirmed. Overnight Closures Needed for Construction of Support ColumnsCrews are entering a critical phase of construction of the southbound section of the Rocky Creek viaduct. This viaduct is a bridge-like structure and during this next phase reinforced concrete support columns will be cast to support the weight of the structure.Because this phase of construction involves drilling and concrete work in open holes, it is necessary for crews to maximize the number of consecutive shifts with full overnight closures so that the integrity of the bored holes is preserved. Working on an uninterrupted schedule also allows for this phase to be completed in advance of wet weather, reducing the chance for water intrusion and delays to the project schedule. Daytime travelers will continue to enjoy access through the repair site driving on the northbound lane and directed by a temporary signal system.Once construction of the southbound section of the Rocky Creek viaduct is complete, travel will be directed onto this southbound section and work will begin on construction of the northbound portion of the viaduct.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. However, the vast majority of the Big Sur coast remains accessible and open.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.Our crews deserve to get home safely too. Drive slowly and carefully in work zones.CHP Traffic Incident Information Page: http://cad.chp.ca.gov

For more information, please visit watchduty.org. This fire is located East of Tassajara Road, on Carmel Valley Road, near the Hastings Reserve. The cause is under investigation. The acreage is currently around 180 acres. Nighttime helicopter operations have been ordered. PG&E is working on getting the power back on as of 6:08 pm.

Evacuation warnings have been issued for Zones MRY-D074-A & MRY-D076-A on the Genasys Evacuation Map. These zones are also visible on the Watch Duty map.

A Temporary Evacuation Point is at the Carmel Valley Library, 65 W. Carmel Valley Rd Carmel Valley, CA 93924 – per the update at this link

The official Cal-Fire incident page can be found here: www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2024/10/8/piney-fire

Pinyon Peak Camera can be found here:

Photo from the East by Ryen M.

Some large air tankers covering the fire today including the BAE-146, C-130 Hercules, and the DC-10.

3D mapping can be found here:

For a link to the online ticket sales, see: enthe.com/bal-masque/bal-masque-tickets

Scarecrow Festival is here! And I found out where the scarecrows hide during the rest of the year.

Date:	Thursday, October 3, 2024
District:	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 #12

UPCOMING REPAIR SCHEDULE ON HIGHWAY 1 AT ROCKY CREEK

TO INCLUDE FULL OVERNIGHT CLOSURES

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 30slipout resulted in a loss of a section of the southbound lane.

Upcoming Repair Schedule

Drilling and casting of reinforced concrete columns will result in a series of full overnight closures of Hwy. 1 at Rocky Creek. Travelers can expect the following full and intermittent closures:

·       For Thursday Oct. 3, there will be a full overnight closure of Hwy. 1 at Rocky Creek from 10 pm to 6 am.

·       There are no closures scheduled on Friday Oct. 4 and Saturday Oct. 5.

·       Five consecutive full overnight closures are confirmed from Sunday Oct. 6 thru Thursday Oct. 10, from 10 pm to 6 am.

·       A full closure of Highway 1 at Rocky Creek will take place on Friday October 11, from 11:30 pm to 5:30 am, to allow for a crane to deploy equipment on site. 

Updates will be provided regarding any travel impacts for the week of Oct. 13.

Overnight Closures Needed for Construction of Support Columns

Crews are entering a critical phase of construction of the southbound section of the Rocky Creek viaduct. This viaduct is a bridge-like structure and during this next phase reinforced concrete support columns will be cast to support the weight of the structure.

Because this phase of construction involves drilling and concrete work in open holes, it is necessary for crews to maximize the number of consecutive shifts with full overnight closures so that the integrity of the bored holes is preserved. Working on an uninterrupted schedule also allows for this phase to be completed in advance of wet weather, reducing the chance for water intrusion and delays to the project schedule.

Daytime travelers will continue to enjoy access through the repair site driving on the northbound lane and directed by a temporary signal system.

Once construction of the southbound section of the Rocky Creek viaduct is complete, travel will be directed onto this southbound section and work will begin on construction of the northbound portion of the viaduct.

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. However, the vast majority of the Big Sur coast remains accessible and open.###

Kevin Drabinski. Public Information Officer