This is Oz (thank you, Jasmine)

From Lisa & Kenny Comello:

Do you think you could post at your earliest convenience that Jesse Comello’s friendly 6 year old dog, OZ (Ozzie) ran away from our home on Willow Crk Rd (Los Burros Rd) this morning (Sat.) around 4:30 or so? He’s around 80 lbs, mostly black with brown & white markings – a Big Sur Spottweiler (Rottie & Aussie), collared but not tagged or chipped.
He’s prone to seizures and comes out of them but tired and a little disoriented. He’s a sweetie but is missing Jesse who left him with us to dog sit!

From Big Sur Fire Department:

Concerning residential “backyard” burning, we were notified earlier today that CAL FIRE BEU is not lifting the burn ban in Monterey and San Benito Counties due to unfavorable environmental conditions. CAL FIRE BEU cited the lack of sufficient rain for not lifting the burn ban which typically occurs on December 1st of each year. With that, Big Sur Fire will not process or issue burn permits until such a time that the local burn ban is lifted by CAL FIRE BEU.

Extensive road works will eventually lead to the reopening of State Highway 1 north of Kaikōura on December 15. The exact time of the opening is yet to be determined.

The earthquake-stricken State Highway 1 will open for 13-and-a-half hours a day while rebuild work continues.

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) on Monday confirmed the highway north and south of Kaikōura would open from 7am to 8.30pm daily once the road reopened to the public on December 15.

NZTA earthquake recovery manager Tim Crow said the night-time closures were needed because several sites would still be under construction.

One of the slip sites above State Highway 1 south of Kaikōura.

Some surfaces would still be unsealed, and there would be lane closures and stop/go traffic controls on parts of the road.

SH1 would be closed overnight north of Kaikōura between Clarence and Mangamaunu, and south of Kaikōura between Goose Bay and Peketa.

The number of worksites on SH1 would be reduced between December 15 and January 7 to help with traffic flow, but would ramp up again after the holidays.

“We’re committed to reopening the road in time for the holidays so that local residents and visitors can make their way up and down the coastal corridor,” Crow said.

“We want to ensure that people’s journeys are as smooth and reliable as possible over the holiday period, and we also want to give the road crews a well-deserved break. From 8 January we’ll be back working at full capacity to finish and improve the road.”

 

“Among the most vulnerable spots are Sonoma County’s Mark West Creek area, the ridge between Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley, particularly Mount Veeder, Hogback Mountain and Hood Mountain, and parts of Napa County around Atlas Peak and Mount George.

Some of these places face an 80-to-100-percent chance of a mud or debris flow with just a short, intense burst of rain, defined as about a quarter inch in 15 minutes, according to the Geological Survey.

While mudslides can manifest in different ways after wildfires, the problem starts with a loss of protective vegetation to soak up water and stabilize a slope, coupled with soil that is both less porous and less cohesive after burning. In the most severely charred spots, the soil can develop a slick coating near its surface as a result of gases given off during the fire, making it impenetrable to water.

When the rain comes, the ground is ripe for erosion, with the potential for runoff to snowball as it picks up dirt, branches and other debris. Slides can occur long after the rain, too, when a saturated chunk of hill collapses under its own weight.”

This is my annual Veterans Day post. (Just part of it this year)

In 1967, after the Summer of Love was over, Viet Nam protests were barely beginning, I found myself in unusual circumstances in an unusual time, and so I joined the USWAC.

The Army was segregated in those days — not by race, but by sex. All WAC training was held at Ft. McClellan, AL and so the Army flew me out to begin my training. It was in Alabama, in 1967 that I first observed racial segregation. I saw “whites-only” bathrooms and water faucets. They were NOT just a “left-over” relic from an earlier and sad time. They were a current condition that blacks and whites found themselves in. They were a commentary on how far we still had to come. Racial segregation, at least not overt discrimination, was minimal in California. It was still rampant in Alabama when I was there.

This past Tuesday, we saw a decisive victory for diversity. I, and all my indigent criminal defense attorney friends, and all my otherwise liberal friends, were over the moon with hope for the first time in a year. I could not be more proud of us, and am proud to call myself a veteran of this diverse and inclusive country that allows us to embrace our differences. Thank you to all who showed up and voted their conscience. It worked. We are taking back America.

While Nepenthe’s rain gauge only reported about .37” for the prior 24 hours ending at 6 am this morning, all the gauges down on the South Coast reported well over an inch of rain. For us, I think this indicates the end of the fire season, at least for now. As you can see,  I changed out the fire links on the right for the weather links, as I do twice a year with the seasons. Enjoy the rain, as I am.