Month: August 2025

1500 Documented Landslides

Oct 23, 2024 #geology#pacificcoasthighway#highway1California’s Pacific Coast Highway is one of the world’s most iconic drives. But parts of it collapse into the ocean almost every year. Why does this road keep failing? And is there a solution? FEATURING: Gary Griggs, Distinguished Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, UC Santa Cruz READ MORE:

CITATIONS:

#pacificcoasthighway#highway1#geology @ucsantacruz CHAPTERS:00:00 Highway 1 keeps collapsing 00:32 Highway 1’s history 01:14 The section most prone to collapse 01:55 Why is Big Sur so unstable? 02:48 Why is the highway becoming more precarious? 03:50 What can we do to stop this?

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Jb9yJ9lqY

For another 5 minute video on the future of Highway One from CBS Sunday Morning, you can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25Jb9yJ9lqY

The Gifford Fire – 3 Photos

From my friend, Mark Ruggiero:

It’s starting to burn into the Garcia wilderness where there is no [prior] documented fire.  So it’s going to be a long haul along with the new one in LA. 

Here are some photos for you taken on the northern end near avenales at the headwaters of the Salians river. La Panza mts. And a nite shot from Monday.  

All credit to Mark Ruggiero, except the last one which is credited to the Chumash Fire Department.



Two Fires I am watching: Gifford (SLO Co) and Panoche (San Benito Co)

Both fires are being reported on by https://watchduty.org or using their app for free.

For Panoche this morning’s report:

Firefighters are actively battling a rapidly moving vegetation fire in the Penoche Valley region of southeastern San Benito County. The fire is burning in light, flashy fuels and mixed brush, contributing to fast-moving fire behavior.
 
Firefighters worked through the night and successfully held the Panoche Fire at 330 acres with 10% containment. Day shift crews are focused on keeping the fire within its current footprint and increasing containment.
Additional resources and updates can be found on our Linktree: https://linktr.ee/CAL_FIRE_BEU

On Gifford, it is much more complex and has many areas that have been ordered to evacuate so I suggest if interested in this fire you follow it on https://watchduty.org. It is currently almost 100, 000 acres and 15% contained. You can also get more information by following here: https://www.facebook.com/lospadresnationalforest/posts/giffordfire-evening-quick-facts-august-7-2025size-99-232acrescontainment-15perso/1191532246335338/

Car Week 2025

For a full listing of events starting Friday, 8/8/25 and going through 8/17/25, see: https://www.seemonterey.com/events/sporting/concours/

From Fire Adapted Big Sur

As a reporter for Watch Duty for the last 3 years or so, I always recommend Watch Duty to everyone I know. It was nice to see Rayner from Fire Adapted Big Sur (a program of Community Association of Big Sur) send out this information to his email list. For those of you who may have missed this, by either FABS or me, here it is with good instructions on how to install and use it. BTW, we have been expanding westward and are almost to the Mississippi River, and after what happened in Texas are looking to not just expand our coverage of wildfire, but also of other natural disasters. It has always been Watch Duty’s goal to assist first responders in getting the information out to our communities so that we can help save lives. It is free for the basic service for your county and up to three others. For a ridiculously low yearly fee, other aspects of the service are opened up to you, such as flight patters so you can watch in real time the tankers and helicopters that are on a fire. The pro service is generally used by first responders agencies, counties, utilities, and other organizations responsible for emergencies. I hope you join us by downloading this free app. Bigsurkate

Dear Neighbors,

The Watch Duty app for your smartphone and tablet provides timely and critical wildfire alerts. There are many configuration options – here’s guidance for tailoring the app for notifications and to display the information that you want.

Respectfully – Rayner
Watch Duty is a nonprofit-funded wildfire alert app designed to keep communities informed in real time about nearby fires. Staffed by a network of experienced fire reporters, dispatchers, and journalists, the app provides live updates on wildfire activity sourced from official scanner traffic, fire maps, and direct field observations. Unlike traditional alert systems that may lag, Watch Duty aims to deliver faster, more localized information about evacuations, containment, and changing conditions. It has become an essential tool for California residents in fire-prone areas. During the first two days of the Palisades and Eaton fires, ~1.4 million residents signed up to obtain safety and evacuation information from Watch Duty.

The app features an intuitive interface that displays wildfires on a map, with clickable icons providing detailed, timestamped updates. Residents can receive push notifications specifically for the County of Monterey, allowing them to stay ahead of developing threats. The app may be used for free. Optional annual Basic ($24.99) and Pro ($99.99) memberships provide additional features.

Here are step-by-step instructions for setting up Watch Duty on your Apple iOS or Google Android device (refer to app screenshots in photo):Download the Watch Duty app from the App Store or Google Play.Open the app, select the 3-bar Menu icon next to “Watch Duty” (upper-left screen). Select Settings > Notifications. Select Monterey County. Select Updates > All Notifications unless you wish to only receive a single notification about a local fire. Check the box adjacent to Include Silent Incidents if you wish to receive alerts about all local fires. Otherwise, you’ll receive alerts only once a fire has reached a certain severity threshold. You may optionally add additional counties.Select the Layers icon (upper-right screen). Street, Satellite, and Topographic map views are available. Select which features you wish to have displayed on the map (some features require paid membership):
a. General – fire perimeters, satellite hotspots, flight tracker (fixed-and rotary-winged aircraft servicing the fire), power outages, live wildfire cameras
b. Weather – weather stations, fire weather and red flag warnings, surface wind direction, air quality index (AQI)
c. Professional – ownership & responsibility (federal, state, electrical utilities, private), critical infrastructure (electrical transmission lines, natural gas pipelines, radio repeaters), pre-planned evacuation zones.

Illegal Campfires on South Coast

Remember this announcement just two days ago? https://bigsurkate.blog/2025/07/31/no-campfires-on-south-coast-of-big-sur-warns-monterey-county/

This was taken last night by one of the members of the Big Sur South Coast Fire Foundation on a weekend patrol.

Big Sur South Coast Fire Foundation is a non-profit run entirely by volunteers, trying to keep our back country safe from the clueless (those not familiar with back country camping) or those who see the signs but think they don’t apply to them. If you want to support Big Sur South Coast Fire Patrol, one can donate here: https://www.bsscff.org/

Rage Against the Regime

 
We Said Hands Off and No Kings Here! We Made Good Trouble! Now We will PEACEFULLY Gather to Rage Against the Regime!Aug. 2nd, 2-4pm Window on the Bay, MontereySign up HERE
Food Drive at the Monterey Rally for All in Monterey CountyNon-perishable donation, especially lunchbox foods for kids; individually wrapped granola bars, fruit wraps & cups, chips, cookies, juice boxes, etc– – – – –Help Wanted! Peacekeepers and other volunteers needed for Monterey Rally!Sign up Here! 
 
Rage Against the RegimeA Peaceful RallyAug. 2nd, 12-2South Main and Blanco, SalinasSign up HERE