Although locals can be escorted through Paul’s Slide which is just north of the Rock Shed, and south of Lucia, the Mud Creek Slide, about a mile south of Gorda, has slammed shut.There is a manned closure at Gorda. This is expected to continue at least through the weekend. We are expecting an update around noon.

There is a contingency of 256 bicyclists leaving Monterey today to head south. I wrote them and advised them to take 68 to 101, due to our closures. Nacimiento would be EXTREMELY dangerous, even more than usual, as those of us who live here have only that option, and it is very narrow, only one lane in one spot. I hope they heeded my advice.

As you all know, Palo Colorado Canyon has been closed at about 3.3 miles in due to a failed culvert and the collapse of the road. This one will take quite a while to repair.

As always, take care of each other, be mindful of the closures and potential closures, and use this lull between storms wisely, as I know all Big Surians will.

bigsurkate

Another update from Kate (her internet is down again):

Willow Creek:

New slide of rock across the road at the big dirt turn out of Willow Creek towards the middle to north end. Since the big turn out is there you can drive into the turnout to avoid all the rock across the road.

Palo Colorado Canyon:

3 pm – I am getting reports of some nasty problems up Palo Colorado Canyon at 3 miles and at the Hoist. My internet is again extremely intermittent, so having difficulty following up on this and getting further information. As soon as I get something definitive, I will email it to Luke so he can post for me.

Esalen: there is a slide near Esalen, but locals can get past it on the shoulder, I understand.

Caltrans:

3:00 PM 12 January 2017

Good afternoon everyone,

Thank you for your patience in receiving our updates; cell phone reception was very difficult today.

Update to the Public and Locals:

The northern closure continues at Grimes Canyon (PM 42.0). The southern closure remains at Ragged Pt. (SLO, PM 72.87)

LOCAL RESIDENTS, EMERGENCY SERVICES AND EMPLOYEES will be allowed access from Grimes Canyon (PM 42) to Lucia (PM 23), as long as conditions allow.

LOCALS now have access to and from Ragged Pt. to Pitkins (PM 21.3). There are still multiple slides between Mud Creek (PM 8.8) and Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6).
but LOCALS needing access will be allowed in between.

So the update to the PUBLIC is: HWY. 1 REMAINS CLOSED from Ragged Pt. (SLO PM 72.87) to Grimes Canyon (MON PM 42). The hotline recording will be refreshed to reflect the changes. Another update will be provided tomorrow morning, soon after 9 am.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Be safe out there.

Please note:  The public going AROUND fuller’s are being stopped at Lucia and sent all the way back, and cannot “sneak” through, per a local who was witnessing this this afternoon.  People who get a flat inside the closure areas will most likely NOT get roadside assistance and may risk a ticket and by the way, there is no cell service.

Good afternoon everyone,
Update to the Public and Locals in regards to HWY 1:

Thankfully, the slide at Fernwood (PM 47.03) has been cleared and Hwy. 1 at this location will open as of 4 pm. As of 5 pm this evening, January 11, the closure will be re-located down to Fuller’s (PM 42.2). Motorists can get from Carmel down past Big Sur to Fuller’s where there is more slide activity—much of this progress also depends on rain received tonight and tomorrow.

LOCAL RESIDENTS, EMERGENCY SERVICES AND EMPLOYEES will be allowed access from Fuller’s (PM 42.2) to Lucia (PM 23), as long as conditions allow.

School buses will continue with their usual routes–without having the parents meet the kids on the north side of the closure this afternoon–If anything changes, we’ll let you know.

LOCALS now have access to and from Ragged Pt. to Pitkins (PM 21.3). There are still multiple slides between Mud Creek (PM 8.8) and Paul’s Slide (PM 21.6).
but LOCALS needing access will be allowed in between.

So the update to the PUBLIC is:  HWY. 1 REMAINS CLOSED from Ragged Pt. (SLO PM 72.87) to Fuller’s (MON PM 42.2). The hotline recording will be updated to reflect the changes. Another update will be provided tomorrowmorning.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Be safe out there.

Susana Z. Cruz
Caltrans District 5
Public Information Officer/

Just in from the Big Sur Chamber if you need to drive north of Fernwood:

To accommodate locals, tomorrow morning, January 11, at 8 AM and every two hours thereafter Caltrans is going to accommodate LOCAL traffic only through the Fernwood closure area for up to 15 minutes if conditions allow. 

(please keep in mind this could change depending on the conditions after the rains tonight)

By the way, Kate’s internet is down at the moment, so I’m posting this for her.

Previous update from Caltrans:

To give you an idea of where the Soberanes Fire is burning, we’ve included maps that are updated daily. These maps are provided by Cal Fire/US Forest Service.

The latest Heat Perimeter was detected yesterday at 10:49 pm. Growth last period: 2,434 Acres. All of the perimeter growth occurred in the Southeaster and the South. Note: The Heat Perimeter is not current on any other Official Map.

We’ve also included various links that you may find useful. Note: The Weather Forecast and Fire Behavior Forecast were not provided today as of 7:15 am. Operation Maps are now located in the CalFire/US Forest Service Links below. Additional Links have been moved to the end of the post. Some links may open large PDF documents.

Please see Local Reports for the current fire discussion.

Infrared Topo: IR_TopoInfrared Ortho: IR_Ortho

Infrared heat detection and Satellite heat detection overlayed onto Google Earth (provided by John Chesnut)Briefing Map: BAM

Cal Fire/ US Forest Service Links:

INCIDENT PLAN (not current) Complete Incident Plan as of 8/19/16. Note: PDF may take awhile to download

Ops_North Operations Map North as of 8/20/16

Ops_South Operations Map South as of 8/20/16

IAP MAP CARMEL Dozer Carmel as of 8/20/16

IAP MAP SECO Dozer Seco as of 8/20/16

IAP MAP SUR Dozer Sur as of 8/20/16

Public Information Map as of 8/20/16

Progression Map (not current) as of 8/19/16

Air Operations Map as of 8/20/16

Additional Links:

Xasauan Today Satellite heat detection discussion

Google Maps Adam Clark’s Google Map with most recent Dozer lines, IR flight overlay, and the Planned Fire Line. Note: You may need to be signed in to a Google account to view this link.

Mapping Support Same as above, but on USGS Topo Maps

MesoWest Weather stations that are located near the fire. Scroll down to S07 Central Coast IRAWS. See the Blue WX rectangles on the Ops maps for locations. There are currently 7 portable weather stations deployed.

Flight Radar 24 Live Air Traffic for the area.  Note: aircraft flying at low altitudes may not be detected.

Firefighting Aircraft PDF guide with Cal Fire Firefighting Aircraft

To give you an idea of where the Soberanes Fire is burning, we’ve included maps that are updated daily. These maps are provided by Cal Fire/US Forest Service.

The latest Heat Perimeter was detected yesterday at 8:03 pm. Growth last period: 2,396 Acres. All of the perimeter growth occurred in the Southeaster and the South. Note: The Heat Perimeter is not current on any other Official Map.

We’ve also included the Weather Forecast, Fire Behavior Forecast and various links that you may find useful. Note: Operation Maps are now located in the CalFire/US Forest Service Links below. Additional Links have been moved to the end of the post. Some links may open large PDF documents.

Please see Local Reports for the current fire discussion.

Infrared Topo: IR_TopoInfrared Ortho: IR_Ortho

Infrared heat detection overlayed onto Google Earth (provided by John Chesnut)Detail of the heat on the river near Pfeiffer.  Grass on far bank could flare up, as it is yet unburned.

Weather ForecastFire Behavior Forecast

Briefing Map: BAM

Cal Fire/ US Forest Service Links:

INCIDENT PLAN Complete Incident Plan as of 8/19/16. Note: PDF may take awhile to download

Ops_North Operations Map North as of 8/19/16

Ops_South Operations Map South as of 8/19/16

IAP MAP CARMEL Dozer Carmel as of 8/19/16

IAP MAP SECO Dozer Seco as of 8/19/16

IAP MAP SUR Dozer Sur as of 8/19/16

Public Information Map as of 8/19/16

Progression Map as of 8/19/16

Air Operations Map as of 8/19/16

AirOps_Retardant as of 8/19/16

Additional Links:

Xasauan Today Satellite heat detection discussion

Google Maps (not yet updated)Adam Clark’s Google Map with most recent Dozer lines, IR flight overlay, and the Planned Fire Line. Note: You may need to be signed in to a Google account to view this link.

Mapping Support (not yet updated) Same as above, but on USGS Topo Maps

MesoWest Weather stations that are located near the fire. Scroll down to S07 Central Coast IRAWS. See the Blue WX rectangles on the Ops maps for locations. There are currently 7 portable weather stations deployed.

Flight Radar 24 Live Air Traffic for the area.  Note: aircraft flying at low altitudes may not be detected.

Firefighting Aircraft PDF guide with Cal Fire Firefighting Aircraft

To give you an idea of where the Soberanes Fire is burning, we’ve included maps that are updated daily. These maps are provided by Cal Fire/US Forest Service.

The latest Heat Perimeter was detected yesterday at 11:31 pm. Growth last period: 2,317 Acres. All of the perimeter growth occurred in the Southeast, Southwest, and the South.

We’ve also included the Weather Forecast, Fire Behavior Forecast and various links that you may find useful. Note: Operation Maps are now located in the CalFire/US Forest Service Links below. Additional Links have been moved to the end of the post. Some links may open large PDF documents.

Please see Local Reports for the current fire discussion.

Infrared Topo: IR_Topo

Infrared Ortho: IR_Ortho

Satellite map with IR overlay (provided by John Chestnut):

Weather ForecastFire Behavior ForecastBriefing Map: BAM

Cal Fire/ US Forest Service Links:

INCIDENT PLAN Complete Incident Plan as of 8/18/16. Note: PDF may take awhile to download

Ops_North Operations Map North as of 8/18/16

Ops_South Operations Map South as of 8/18/16

IAP MAP CARMEL Dozer Carmel as of 8/18/16

IAP MAP SECO Dozer Seco as of 8/18/16

IAP MAP SUR Dozer Sur as of 8/18/16

Public Information Map as of 8/18/16

Progression Map as of 8/18/16

Air Operations Map as of 8/18/16

AirOps_Retardant as of 8/18/16

Additional Links:

Xasauan Today Satellite heat detection discussion

Google Maps Adam Clark’s Google Map with most recent Dozer lines, IR flight overlay, and the Planned Fire Line. Note: You may need to be signed in to a Google account to view this link.

Mapping Support Same as above, but on USGS Topo Maps

MesoWest Weather stations that are located near the fire. Scroll down to S07 Central Coast IRAWS. See the Blue WX rectangles on the Ops maps for locations. There are currently 7 portable weather stations deployed.

Flight Radar 24 Live Air Traffic for the area.  Note: aircraft flying at low altitudes may not be detected.