Category: Living in the Wilderness

No campfires in Los Padres National Forest effective immediately!

Just in time for 4th of July! Thank you LPNF!

Los Padres officials raise fire restrictions

GOLETA, Calif. – In response to the increasing potential for a wildland fire start, Los Padres National Forest officials announced that fire restrictions have been raised throughout the Forest effective immediately. These restrictions will affect the use of campfires, stoves, smoking materials and internal combustion engines, and will remain in effect until the end of fire season in late autumn.

Effective immediately, the following restrictions will be in effect:

  • No open fires, campfires or charcoal fires will be permitted outside of developed recreation sites or designated Campfire Use Sites (list attached), even with a valid California Campfire Permit. Lanterns and portable stoves using gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel will be permitted, but only with a valid California Campfire Permit, which are available free-of-charge on the Forest website and at any Forest Service office. Forest visitors must clear all flammable material for five feet in all directions from their camp stove, have a shovel available, and ensure that a responsible person attends the stove at all times during use.
  • Smoking is prohibited, except within an enclosed vehicle, building, or a designated Campfire Use Site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material.
  • Internal combustion engines may be operated only on roads or designated trails. This restriction is in effect year-round. Please make sure your engine is tuned, operating properly, and has an approved spark arrester.

“The moisture levels are approaching a critical threshold. Combine that with warm temperatures and high winds and we have all the ingredients for fire starts,” Los Padres Deputy Forest Fire Management Officer Jim Harris said. “The most important thing is for forest visitors to be aware of their surroundings and exercise caution when conditions are ripe for a wildfire.”

For a list of Developed Recreation Sites and Campfire Use Sites in Los Padres National Forest, or further information regarding Fire-Safe Camping, visit www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf or contact the Forest Service district office nearest you.

 

Photo Sunday, 7/1/18

Here are some wildflowers we have not seen down here before. The first one is from Gail D. The second one is from Rock Knocker. Enjoy your wonderful Sunday. Namasté

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Park Management as the USFS steward on the South Coast of Big Sur

While the lack of bathrooms on the entire Big Sur Coast is a huge problem, Park Management, who manages several of them, has locked them up, and is no longer providing access, creating a huge health issue as well as a disgusting experience.

Xasauan Today https://xasauantoday.com/ covered this issue just a few days ago. Today, Gail D and Lisa G sent me these three photos of conditions at Mill Creek, one of 3 public bathrooms on the South Coast outside of the campgrounds. The fourth photo is of Willow Creek, and looks to be the same location in Xasauan Today’s shot. Sand Dollar Beach has had its gates closed and locked, so I cannot get in to check the bathrooms there.

Gail D has contacted Jeff Benson, recreation officer of the Monterey District, but not received a reply. Anni Agren has contacted Tim Short, District Ranger of the Monterey District, but he is out of town until next week. I have sent these photo on to Tim Short as well as to Merv George, who is the Acting Supervisor of the Los Padres National Forest and have sent both these four photos.

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Busted lock on gate & rude tourists

Had my lock broken off so a car full of tourist could get in. Description: White Subaru, license 7TNX840. 2 Asian men, 2 Asian females, 20s. I hope this works, as I normally don’t upload videos. Fortunately, my son, Brendon Shave caught them. I called and reported to USFS-PV Station to BOLO and then called MCSO to report them.

Strategic Community Firebreak, Monterey District

In a separate post, I will be posting a request by CPOA regarding funding a Fire Mitigation Position for Monterey County. That post will go live this afternoon.

The Los Padres National Forest (LPNF) is pleased to announce the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and draft Record of Decision (ROD) for the Strategic Community Fuelbreak Improvement project on the Monterey Ranger District. The FEIS and draft ROD are available for review at the Monterey Ranger District office, 406 South Mildred Ave, King City, CA 93903, and at the Supervisor’s Office, 6750 Navigator Way, Suite 150, Goleta, CA 93117. Beginning on May 22, 2018 it can also be viewed on-line at the following internet address: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=40713. More information is included in the attached letter.

  • Notification+Letter+-+SCFIP+FEIS.pdf

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STRs

From the Highland STRs group:

The PC staff is having a meeting in Big Sur next week [Tuesday at 9:30 at the Lodge] where they will be recommending/announcing they will be restricting STR’s to “Home Stays”  in a Host’s permanent residence, and only while they are actually living/staying there.  We discussed this in our last meeting, and now the shape of it is better known.  We will need (at some point) to decide whether Carmel Highlands wants to end up with a identical situation.

It is a compromise from the PC’s previous position, and it does accomplish some of what we have been fighting for.  The key things missing are enforcement and ADA. It is not clear where traffic, leach field, water, advertising and other issues end up from our point of view, but it is clearly better than before.  There is also a technical issue on the number of people a Host can rent to because the draft ordinance limit of two times the number of bedrooms doesn’t leave a room for the owner.
On enforcement: responsibility for enforcement shifts entirely to the neighbors from a practical point of view.  The County is substituting an ordinance it won’t enforce, to one it can’t enforce.  On the other hand, fines are way up, and we might have the same legal options we have now (requires legal verification).  And paying a firm for enforcement is cheaper than litigation against the County and Coastal Commission.
I know there are some in our group who have favored this approach, at least in concept. It is also similar to the approach being supported by Carmel Valley.
Please read it carefully when you have a chance, think about it, and let’s communicate our thoughts to each other. (Or in Big Sur’s Case, at the meeting on Tuesday)
There is a bit more info on the website – specifically from Mary Adams office.

Planning Commission Draft Ordinance – “Home Stays” Simplified Explanation

KEY EXCERPTS FROM THE DRAFT ORDINANCE

MAXIMUM OCCUPANCY

No more than two (2) times the total number of bedrooms

Home Stay Definition

There are two different kinds:

A.     The STR unit is the STR Operator’s principal residence, and the STR Operator resides at the STR site while it is occupied by short-term renters.

Planning Commission staff makes the following preliminary recommendation (for Big Sur):

• STRs that are defined as homestays, are consistent with the BSLUP and should be allowed.

• STRs that are to be rented 12 times per year or fewer and not more than 2 times per year (referred to herein as “low-frequency STR”) and: Are a primary residence, are consistent with the BSLUP and should be allowed.

B.     The STR unit is not the STR Operator’s principal residence

Planning Commission staff makes the following preliminary recommendation (for Big Sur):

• STRs that would require a Coastal Development Permit (equivalent to the “Use Permit” in the Draft Ordinance), are not consistent with the BSLUP and should not be allowed.

• STRs that are to be rented 12 times per year or fewer and not more than 2 times per year (referred to herein as “low-frequency STR”) and are not a primary residence, are not consistent with the BSLUP and should not be allowed 

• Un-Hosted Short-Term Rental or Un-Hosted STR: A short-term rental whereby the STR Operator does not reside at the STR site while it is occupied by short- term renters are not consistent with the BSLUP and should not be allowed 

Saturday Tourists… (4/21/18)

… Came wandering up to my place this morning. A young, polite Chinese couple, clearly in trouble. They had gotten their car stuck in a hole a few miles away. They slept in their car. They had had no food or water. They offered me $200 to take them to the highway. Unfortunately, I was expecting company in an hour – a BSK reader and her husband who had flown in to SFO and were renting a 4×4 Jeep and a place at the bottom of the road from me and who did not know the neighborhood, were coming up. I couldn’t take the couple down.

I offered the use of my phone, but it kept dropping the calls. I drew them a map of where they were, how they needed to go to get out of here. I gave them each a 1/2 gallon of water, bananas, and oranges. I was just sending them on their way, when my son showed up. “Want to make $200??” I asked him. After looking at the photo of their car, he said he could pull them out with his chain, so he loaded them up and took them back to their car. He needs to make his truck payment and works at whatever he can get. Plus, he is just an all-round good guy. Boy did those visitors luck out!

Tourist Tuesdays, 4/17/18

It is hard to write anything for today, after dealing with the Rio Rd. fiasco all weekend, for the second weekend in a row, and also seeing and hearing – loud parties, drunks asleep in the middle of the road, and booming speakers – what people did in my neighborhood. None of what you see below was here a few years ago, and the off-roading was twice as bad on Sunday as it was on Wednesday when I went down the hill to town. So many new tracks and destruction over the weekend. I am saddened beyond belief and my hope in maintaining any semblance of wilderness has been shaken. Soon, all the wildflowers, grasses, and wildlife will be gone.

Tomorrow I will be attending the MCCVB Sustainability Forum, and it will be a challenge for me. I want people who contribute to this madness to be held responsible for the damage. I want those charged with protecting the wilderness, the coast, the highway, and the community to take responsibility. Have we reached the tipping point? Are we past the point of no return?

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Shooting on Nac-Ferg Rd. Tonight, 12/11/17

MCSO responded to reports of a shooting 5.5 miles up Nacimiento from Highway One. (Near Summit) They gave chase to the shooter, and lost him. A helicopter assisted in the search and came right by my house down Prewitt Loop but was lower than my house. The suspect was eventually caught on San Miguelito Loop, over by the Mission on FHL. They retrieved the pump action shotgun and EMS was ordered from FHL, as well as a life-flight. Victim drove himself past the med 24 and ended up at Post Ranch. (This report put together with help from Jim Kimball who sent reports from scanner.) The victim is Peter Harris, USFS. From his wife:

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