Author: bigsurkate

Appointed appellate counsel for indigent defendants (retired.) I have lived in Big Sur since 1984, first on the north coast, and on the South Coast since 1989.

Waste Management begins normal service Monday

Please see the update for Big Sur and Solid Waste:

The Big Sur bridge will be open beginning this Friday, October 13 at 5pm. We [WM, Inc] will resume normal routes beginning the week of Monday, October 16.
One more note, we will not be servicing south of the landslide. Collection services will be provided to customers north of the landslide.

Thanks,
Rob

Rob Durham, MA
Management Analyst II
Supervisor-Recycling & Resource Recovery Services

While Rob doesn’t mention it, the temporary dumpsters will probably be removed next week as well.

Urgent – Red Flag Warning for MoCo above 1000

It was so strange, my NOAA app sent me an alert re this, but I couldn’t find anything, and then I get this:

“URGENT – FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE…UPDATED
National Weather Service San Francisco CA
406 PM PDT Wed Oct 11 2017

…RED FLAG WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON FOR ELEVATIONS
ABOVE 1000 FEET IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA AS WELL AS
ELEVATIONS ABOVE 1000 FEET ACROSS MONTEREY COUNTY AND SAN BENITO
COUNTY…”

I am at 3272.

October CA Wildfires

This is a very clear map and discussion of all the various wildfires here in CA right now, by the OES. To continue reading the rest of it (too much for a screen shot) see the address in the address bar of the screenshot. (BTW, the Pozo fire in SLO is either controlled or contained.)

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Post Helicopters to end Friday

I have been asked to share, and I know a few of you will be so glad to hear that the helicopters WILL end once the bridge opens.

Big Sur Friends & Residents,

On behalf of all of us at Post Ranch Inn, we thank you for your support, patience, and understanding over these past months with respect to transporting our hotel guests in and out of Post Ranch by helicopter.

As we shared from the beginning, Post Ranch had no plans, nor any desire, to continue flying guests by helicopter once Highway One re-opened. With that in mind, we will stop flying our guests in and out of Post Ranch by 3 pm on Friday, October 13th pending the re-opening of the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge. We have strongly encouraged our guests checking in on Friday to delay their arrival and drive to Post Ranch after the bridge re-opens.

Thank you again for your understanding and enduring the many challenges we all faced as a community these past 10 months.

With gratitude,

Kevin Geanides and the Post Ranch Inn team

 

Inline image 1
Kevin Geanides
General Manager
POST RANCH INN
47900 Highway One | Big Sur, CA 93920
phone 831-667-2200 | mobile 831-293-4393
http://www.postranchinn.com

Highway Closure Update

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Photos of: 1) Mud Creek (PM 8.9) and Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge (PM 45.52) on Oct. 4-PCB image courtesy of Kyle Evans.

HIGHWAY 1 UPDATE – Tuesday, Oct. 9

The new Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge (PM 45.52) will open by 5 pm on Friday, Oct. 13 assuming there will be no issues involving weather/material/equipment. After the bridge opening, Highway 1 in Monterey County will provide 35 additional miles of Hwy. 1 for travelers to Gorda (PM 10). State Route 1 remains closed from north of Salmon Creek, just south of the Ranger Station (PM 3) to just south of Gorda (PM 10) due to the Mud Creek slide. State Route 1 south of Salmon Creek is accessible via State Route 1 in San Luis Obispo County near Ragged Point.

REMINDER: Travelers still CANNOT access the entire length of Highway 1 from Carmel to Cambria but local businesses are open on both sides of Mud Creek.

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge [PCB] (PM 45.52)
Final work to continue for several weeks but Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge will provide access to both locals and the public by 5 pm on Friday, Oct. 13, assuming there will be no issues involving weather/material/equipment. There will be some weekdays that will require a lane closure consisting of one-way reversing traffic control but once the bridge opens, it won’t need to fully close. See attached program regarding ribbon-cutting event details.

Mud Creek (PM 8.9)
Mud Creek had a major slide on Saturday, May 20, 2017, losing over 5 million cubic yards of material. Caltrans continues with its plan to realign the existing terrain. The projected timeline to safely open to public traffic is late-summer 2018 at an estimated cost of $40 million.

There is currently no public access through the Mud Creek area since this remains an active, emergency construction zone.

Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6)
Paul’s Slide is still active but the 24/7 traffic signal remains in place and temporary guardrail (k-rail) in the centerline.

Caltrans reminds motorists to move over and slow down when driving through highway work zones.
Susana Z. Cruz nature-flower-blue-motif[1]
Caltrans District 5
Public Information Officer

Photo Sunday, 8/8/17 (History)

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Today (photo by bigsurkate)

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Circa early 1900’s (photo from the MCHS)

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Local historian Valance Heinsen has chronicled the growth of Jolon, noting that it had its beginnings as a home remodeled to an inn as early as 1850, then further remodeled to the two-story Dutton Hotel in 1876. A Chinese population attracted to mining ventures in the area operated a laundry in Jolon in the 1850s. The village experienced a growth spurt with Dutton’s remodeling of the inn, and a dance hall and community church were added between 1876 and 1879. A community hall, school, granary, and several new houses were constructed by 1888. Several large horse barns and a smithy were added in the early 1890s, along with a detached post office and a telephone office. Several farmers moved into town in the 1890s, further expanding the population and offsetting losses brought about by the closing of the Los Burros mines.

The coastal regions of southern Monterey County were isolated from settled regions to the north (Big Sur) and south (Cambria) because of the precipitous terrain, and were more closely tied to commercial and social affairs of the San Antonio Valley-Jolon-Lockwood area than to other coastal communities. A mail road, actually a horse trail, led from Jolon through present day Fort Hunter Liggett lands to the Santa Lucia divide, where several trails led down to the coast or to the mining camps in the mountains. Settlers from the Lucia area and south to Pacific Valley followed trails over the mountains that rendezvoused at Wagon Cave (CA-MNT-307) on the San Antonio River, where horseback travelers switched to wagons stored there for the purpose of hauling provisions from King City and Jolon.

One less heartbeat in my house

Bear was not a loud dog, except outside when guarding us. He was a sweet dog. His tail was always wagging. He didn’t scratch to be let in or out, he waited for others to do that, and then tagged along. He was sometimes stubborn about coming in for dinner if he wasn’t finished with his duties.

As my FB and twitter followers know, Bear passed yesterday just before 3 pm. I called him Bear, or Bear Dog. This photo was taken in December of 2016 – the day Gideon died. Bear will always be in my heart, right alongside his papa, Gideon, and his sister, Miranda. It seems so quiet today, even though he was not a loud dog. I think it is the one less heartbeat in my house that makes it so quiet. Run and play free, my beautiful, loving boy.

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Controlled burn on Ft Ord

Photo by Mike Morales from his house in East Garrison this am, shorting after 9 am when the prescribed burn started:

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Photos by Nestor Marin from Gen Jim Moore Rd:

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Just a reminder, I’ve already received queries. This morning. Photo by Sandy O’Keefe Bellamy.

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