Photos by Scott Moffat from North Coast Ridge Rd. Yesterday, Sunday 2/26/17
Category: 2016-2017 Winter Storm & Road Reports
Snow
I woke to this, unfortunately, everything was encased in clouds, so I couldn’t get a shot of Cone Peak.
Yes, that is a Meyers Lemon on the right with two lemons on it. Frozen lemonade, anyone?
New Slide at Hurricane?
1:34 PM 3 [5] LOCALS ALLOWED THRU F/PALO COLORADO TO PFEIFFER BRIDGE / UNESCORTED DURING DAYLIGHT HRS / MUST USE CAUTION / AND YIELD TO ANY CALTRANS EQUIP AND PERSONNEL
This is actually before (or north) of the “u” turn over the Little Sur River, and after Hurricane Point, but closer to the Little Sur. this is posted on CHP website:
10:45 AM 2 [4] CT DIST 5 HAS BEEN NOTIFIED OF NEW SLIDE NEAR MPM 57.59 – RDWY IS STARTING TO GIVE WAY W/CRACKS 1-2FT DEEP AND 1-1/5FT WIDE
10:43 AM 1 [2] SR1 IN BIG SUR IS CLOSED F/ PALO COLORADO (MPM 61) DOWN TO THE MTY/SLO COUNTY LINE
Not good. Not good at all. And the OCR is a friggin’ river, so that’s a no-go. I posted these 3 days ago. These are the photos of where the OCR was…
Here are a few photos taken by the CHP last night of the problem
9:20 am -From a friend:
“Good morning! A Big Sur neighbor just called me from town to say that he was turned back at Palo Colorado in the last 30 minutes because there is a slide blocking both lanes near Hurricane Point. I called My 911 communications desk who said they didn’t know of any current slides but had a report of a slide near MM57 very early this morning. there is no word on CHP traffic site about this new closure. Thought I’d pass it on.”
I have not been able to confirm this through CHP or other, at this point. Will update when I know.
Big Sur Health Center
Big Sur Health Center will reopen Monday morning at 10 am. We finally have power and water. Yeah! We hope to have phones by Monday.
Until then, for any medically-related concerns or requests, please continue to contact our answering service through our main number, 667-2580, and someone will be available to help you.
Helicopter Shuttle
Specialized Helicopters will be running shuttles in and out of Big Sur this weekend from Monterey Airport. Each leg, in or out, is $375 each way for the flight or $125/seat. You can carry a small amount of luggage on your lap but if your luggage needs takes up another seat you will need to buy that seat. Please call Specialized Helicopters so that we can optimize each flight and to keep the flights full and affordable for you and make it possible for Specialized to run these shuttles for us.
Flights are limited.
Call Specialized Helicopters at (831) 763-2244 to reserve a seat.
http://www.specializedheli.com
Construction on Nacimiento to begin 2/27/17
Subject: Nacimiento-Fergusson Construction to Begin 2/27/2017
Dear local residents and cooperators,
The anticipated construction to repair the failing section of Nacimiento-Fergusson road at MP 4.2, will begin the week of February 27, 2017.
Construction Schedule
· February 27 (Monday), the contractor will move in, set up traffic control and start construction.
· Construction will take place Monday – Saturday, weather and conditions permitting.
· This contract is for 30 days, however if conditions are right, it may take less than 3 weeks.
Road Closure
o This closure begins Monday morning February 27, 2017. The road will be open and closed during the following times:
o Open from 6:00 pm – 07:00 am and from 11:30 am – 12:00 noon. The road will also be open on Sundays.
o Closed 7:00 am – 11:30 am and from 12:00 noon – 6:00 pm. Monday through Saturday.
The contractor and the Forest Service are striving to have this project completed as soon as possible and allow traffic to safely resume use of this important road. Thank you for your patience and understanding through this challenging period.
If you have any further questions, please contact me.
Thank you,
Forest Service Shield
Debbie Evans
Roads Program Manager
Forest Service
Los Padres National Forest
Before there was a highway …
As I sometimes do, when I make a town run east, I stopped outside the FHL main gate yesterday at the old Jolon Store, and contemplated how difficult life was for the original settlers of the South Coast – you know, the Plasketts, the Prewitts, the Mansfields, and the Harlans. They made their trip across the Santa Lucias by horseback and mule, and eventually wagon. It took 3 days. They camped out on the way. They didn’t have propane to run out of, but cooked with wood. They didn’t use gasoline for generators, but used kerosene lamps and candles for light. They made a “town trip” once a year to get some basics like coffee, salt, sugar, flour, and beans. The rest they raised, forageaged, or bartered for with neighbors. Today, life is easier and for many, “town trips” are considered a necessity and are way too frequent. I surmise that one of the reasons we go through these fires and floods (besides Mother Sur taking care of herself) is to remind ourselves of why we are here and what we love about being here. It is our opportunity to allow the land to refresh and for us to reconnect with it. We can discover that many of us sit no more lightly on the land than do our visitors. I learned to cook on my wood stove to conserve propane. It works very much like a crock pot – just make sure to have lots of liquid and a tight fitting lid. I have candles and oil lamps galore and the glow of them, vs. electric lights makes for a very different feeling and ambiance. I have reconnected with my library and my dogs. It can be a joyful time, if you let it be.
The Jolon Store, photo by bigsurkate, taken 2/23/17.
Castro Bridge Report
SMI conducted an inspection of Br 44 0035 Castro Canyon (05-Mon-001-43.12) [ed note: MM 43.12 is near Deetjen’s] on February 22 in response to reports of a slide near Abutment 1 on February 20.
ABMEs Nick Semander and Justin Alamares found no bridge damage and only minor damage to the crib wall retaining the southerly approach roadway. The crib wall damage does not affect the approach fill at this time. The slide wiped out the southern approach MBGR and knocked a couple of pieces of the PCC cribbing from the top of the crib wall as shown in the attached photographs. (There were no photos attached.)
Nick reported that access to the site from the North was facilitated by a local landowner who met and assisted our team in getting to the bridge over private property with their private vehicles. Please extend our appreciation and thanks to the local community for being so helpful and supportive.
Please let me know of you have any questions.
EROL
EROL C. KASLAN, P.E.
Chief, Structure Investigations – North
Caltrans Division of Maintenance
Structure Maintenance and Investigations
Aerial Photos of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge Cracking in Half 2/23/17, by Stan Russell
Original post can be found here: www.thebigsurblog.com
Photos of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge from a helicopter today.
Flight by Specialized Helicopters, Watsonville
Photography by Stan Russell
Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge
Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is cracking in half. The drilling rig on the right will be drilling for two weeks to determine the geology of the area to determine how to anchor the foundation of the new bridge. Their report is due March 16, 2017
The crack is now all the way through the bridge. The rebar is holding this bridge up while the support
From the surface of the roadway
The surface of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is cracking in half and collapsing as shown in this image. Photo by Stan Russell
Another angle to show how much the bridge has sagged while we can do nothing but wait for it to break. Photo by Stan Russell
Notes from the CPOA meeting, 2/23/17
Below are some quick notes from tonight’s two-hour Coast Property Owners Association meeting. I may have left out some important stuff. Please feel free to add any additional info in the comment section. The agenda can be found here.
Update: Official CPOA minutes will be posted on the CPOA website when the draft has been finalized.
Butch started the meeting. He thanked everyone for their help and for participating in the meeting. He also thanked Big Sur Kate – Kate Novoa.
Martha Karstens (Big Sur Fire Brigade) & CPOA:
-All areas are currently covered by Fire. They’re looking into more landing pads for helicopters.
-CHP is letting locals and workers through the roadblock if they have proof of residence or a note with their names and address of where they are going.
-There was a hike today to scout out trail locations on park land. It was not encouraging, but providing trail access is really important!
-A PG&E truck and Blaze Engineering possibly made it around the bridge on private property, but the road was really bad. Possibly on the Chappallet Ranch?
-Tomorrow there will be nine vans that will attempt to navigate from the South to Esalen with supplies. They will go over Paul’s one at a time. Caltrans will stop the convoy if the road shows any signs of stress. The vans will take fifty or so people out from Esalen. More to be evacuated by helicoptor.
-Safeway Carmel will be taking orders and bringing them to the airport to resupply those who are South of the bridge. People should stock up for two weeks. CPOA has the Safeway order forms. Monterey OES will deliver(?). They’re hiring a helicopter company from Paso Robles. Next Friday will be the first day the helicopters can fly.
-Kirk may bring in food from the South to the Deli for people to buy.
-Power was restored to South Pfeiffer.
Senator Monning:
-National Guard will get involved with resupply if Monterey has no other options – Monterey County will need to push for it. National Guard is currently avaliable for medical evacuations.
-Regarding unemployment insurance, people need to sign up online if they’ve been out of work for one week or more. It takes two weeks to process a claim.
-A new trail would be treacherous and steep. John Laird may get involved because it’s on parks land. They’ll explore all options.
-FEMA will provide relief based on the amount of damage there is. Providing your repair estimates will help show FEMA the amount of damage in the area. Contact CPOA with any questions.
Community Foundation:
-The Community Foundation raised almost one million dollars from donations for their special purpose fund. Relief, Recover, Rebuild!
Congressman Panetta:
-Working with FEMA. Most of the damage occurs when there is a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th storm.
-There are “competing emergencies” throughout the region.
-He flew over the area in a helicopter on Wednesday with Sheriff Bernal. He’ll convey the extent of the damage to FEMA.
-He has a 10 am conference call with agencies tomorrow morning. They will stay on track!
Caltrans:
-Bixby Bridge is on bedrock. Any slide below the bridge is “surface soil” only.
-Hurricane Point, they are constantly keeping one lane open.
-The Fernwood slide is manageable.
-Four weeks design time for Pfeiffer Creek bridge. A rebuilding schedule may be available in three weeks time. Plans for realigning the highway are ongoing with the Bridge plans.
-Cow Cliffs keeps filling the road with rocks. They are dynamiting the big rocks. Dynamic slide situation.
-Paul’s Slide, the cribbing wall has fallen out and the remaining lane is only eleven feet wide. No heavy vehicles allowed. Nine vans will try to cross tomorrow to get food in and to get people out of Esalen. If the road at Paul’s slide goes, then there is no way in or out.
-Mud Creek has three active slides. One recently moved two feet. Lots of action at Mud Creek. Hopefully, the road is clear for tomorrow. It’s like groundhog day, they clear a culvert one day and it fills in again overnight. Bear Chute has lots of groundwater.
-Nacimiento-Fergusson road will be closed by the County during storms because of the slant of the road. Cars can slide off the edge when there is mud on the road.
Cheryl Goetz (Mid-Coast Fire Brigade):
-CPOA has been a huge help.
-Palo Colorado road was compromised. They’re using quads to traverse the road.
-Power could take a couple days.
-Brian patch and Norm are repairing the road to make it passable for residents, for PG&E and for Public Works to access the area.
-Three homes were damaged by the floods. One is beyond repair.
-Old Coast Road is impassable and compromised at Bill Nye’s.
-Water systems in Palo are out. The whole area is dynamic. Everything is constantly changing.
School:
-Most kids South of the bridge are home schooled or staying with friends in town. The trail will be beneficial to get kids to school.
CPOA:
-Over $900,000 donated. 500 emails, 400 phone calls, 100 site visits. They’re saving money for water systems and road repairs after the storms. Most people chose to rebuild after the wet season so any new infrastructure is not damaged by the flooding. They’ll try to make a little bit go a long way. Some people may need to consider paying out of pocket for repairs. Thank you, everyone!
Update on the status of the fund:
a. Soberanes Fire Relief Fund Total Raised $901,954.14
b. Total Distributed $748,470.63
c. Total Remaining $150,636.51
c.i. Water Fund $28,707
c.ii. Septic Fund $15,271
c.iii. Road Fund $68,173
c.iv. General Fire Fund $38,485
d. Soberanes Children’s Fund – Raised $24,000 and fully distributed
In closing by Senator Monning:
-Provide factual updates. Ask specific questions. We will persevere!