Here are a few I took on my way home yesterday. None of these are legal campsites. This was a quiet weekend. Sunday of Memorial Day weekend saw 700 trips up and down this mountain, which means a minimum of 350 vehicles. Please watch the CBS video I posted at the end. It is where Big Sur must head.
And here is a special from CBS that aired 1 week ago. This is what will have to happen here, in Big Sur.
Here is an eye-opening chart, thanks to Tom Collins who provided the counters and checks them, and to CABS for reimbursing Tom for the costs. For the month of April, the total vehicle trips counted for Plaskett were over 6000, that is an average of 200 a day for less than 20 legal campsites, on a USFS road designed to carry no more than 100 4×4 vehicles. On the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, in 24 hours, there were over 700 vehicle trips recorded, Tom thinks that is roughly 350 cars, allowing for roud trips.
This is just SOME of what the South Coast will be presenting to the Council.
Emailed 2 am, May 29, 2022
Greetings Supervisor Adams,
I returned to my home on Los Burros tonight at 10:45 after a patrol with my fellow South Coast Data CollectionTeam member Lindsay Romanow.
On our regular patrol of Los Burros Road we start at a location called Suicide Point. Making stops along the way we head up about 4 miles to what we call “the crossroads,” then continue 2 miles west past San Martín Top to the road’s end.
Yesterday afternoon, in anticipation of the three day weekend and new campfire prohibition, we dismantled over 30 campfire rings on this route, knowing their presence would encourage campfires. At sunset, we patrolled this same area performing the duties that should be carried out by Forestry personnel, none of which were present. We located, greeted, counseled, answered questions, and advised campers of the regulations and consequences of violations. At San Martín Top we saw that campers had barricaded the entrance with a log, and beyond it, were about to light off a pile of gathered brush. We informed them of the prohibition, photographed their license plate and insisted they remove the log. Later, a camper we advised against roadside camping brutally verbally assaulted us.
This evening the holiday was in full swing–we counted at least 35 vehicles and scores of campers just in the one mile beyond San Martín Top. Once again, no Forestry personnel. All the legitimate camping sites were occupied, with overflow traffic camped in violation alongside the road. Most campers did not have permits. We found two lit propane stoves nestled against low-growing brush. A campfire blazed beside the road. We sighted a large campfire far below in a brushy area. Our shouted threats caught the perpetrators’ attention and caused them to extinguish the fire. Conditions were windy. Any fires could have easily gotten out of control with vehicles obstructing each other in escaping.
Our weekend experience was an eye-opener. Why is it I get the sneaking suspicion that the administrators of the LPNF don’t care about what really goes on, not acknowledging, let alone addressing conditions, using the excuse of lack of funds for lack of vision and thoughtful allocation.
It shouldn’t be on us to patrol. Lindsay is a 77-year-old great-grandfather and I am a great-grandmother driving a 25-year-old, 4-wheel-drive rig that negotiates gut-wrenching backroads in patrolling. As a 46 year resident of Big Sur, I am a member of CERT, SCLUAC, CABS and Keep Big Sur Wild. My children and grandchildren were born and raised here. Their legacy goes back to the arrival of the Danis in the 1870’s and later Wilbur Harlan. We care not only about our own homes here in Big Sur, but the homes of all the creatures and plants in our midst. We don’t want them to burn. Connie McCoy
I was asked to be a reporter for this non-profit a few months back. It is an app that is available for both Mac and Android, phones, tablets, and lap tops. It is an amazing piece of software written by John Clarke Mills after he had to be evacuated two years back in Napa County, and couldn’t get any real time info. He solved that problem by creating this app, with some help from some other fire geeks who are part of his tech team. I am only part of the reporting team. Download the app for this fire season, I think you will find it helpful..I will still be providing my usual fire service for the Central Coast, but this is a great addition.
 Watch Duty is now available throughout California!Dear friends, neighbors, and first responders,We are pleased to share with you two very exciting announcements we’ve been working on all winter:1. As of today we are expanding our coverage to the entire state of California! During the welcome rains this winter we’ve been quietly recruiting reporters from across the state and building more robust systems to help us monitor every fire. We are now confident we can provide world-class emergency alerting to the entire state, just like we delivered in Sonoma, Napa, Lake, and Mendocino counties last year.2. We have also just launched what may be our most powerful feature yet: you can now take a photo within the app and have it geolocated and sent directly to our reporters! If a reporter approves the photograph it will then be shared with all users on our platform. These images are invaluable for identifying early fire starts, fire perimeters, and other hazards. Please do not put yourself in harm’s way but you should know that thousands of our users are also first responders — and they are watching.We all can play a role in keeping our community safe and informed, not just firefighters and police. We hope that sharing photos with first responders may give you a tiny measure of control in an otherwise uncontrollable situation. With your help, we can create a new source of fire information along with our radio reporting. This will paint a real-time picture of conditions on the ground for all to see.Thank you all for trusting us along this incredible journey so far. It’s been the highest honor to serve you, our community, and the place we call home. Wishing you a safe and uneventful fire season!And to the first responders out there who drag hose through the forest in 100-degree heat risking everything, press your radio button firmly and speak clearly into the microphone because we’re on watch duty and we’re always listening.Sincerely,The Watch Duty Team |
| Hello Everyone,A small group of Big Sur locals are hosting a litter pickup this Saturday, June 4th as part of a renewal of Weston Call’s LOVE Big Sur campaign, and to clean up any remaining trash after the busy holiday weekend. We’re hoping to spark discussions with locals and visitors alike, while returning our beloved Big Sur to her pristine pre-holiday beauty. Hope to see you there! |
THE FORWARD PROGRESS OF THIS FIRE NEAR GRIGGS NURSERY HAS BEEN STOPPED. I’ll keep an eye out for any further.
Incident:
00138 Type:
Report of Fire Location:
9320 Los Prados Dr Loc Desc:
Los Prados Ln Lat/Lon:
| Detail Information | ||
| 11:58 AM | 5 | [15] [Appended, 11:59:08] [7] PER CDF VEG FIRE NEAR DORRIS |
| 11:58 AM | 4 | [10] [Appended, 11:59:08] [2] FIRE IS GETTING LARGER |
| 11:58 AM | 3 | [9] [Appended, 11:59:08] [1] UNK WHATS ON FIRE |
| 11:57 AM | 2 | [3] APPEARS CLOSE TO GRIGGS NURSEY |
| 11:57 AM | 1 | [2] SEES FLAMES AND SMOKE |
Just a reminder: People often confuse Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day. On Memorial Day we honor those who gave their lives in the fight for our country. We honor our dead. Veteran’s Day, we honor the living.
This post is dedicated to all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and for us…In memory of all of them, in all our many wars.
Don’t have any additional info than this:
Incident: 00221 Type: Report of Fire Location: 3100 Mm1 N Mon 31.00 Loc Desc: Lat/Lon: 36.103778 -121.621772
Los Padres officials to hold public workshop
on coastal zone visitor use management strategy
SOLVANG, Calif.— Los Padres National Forest officials announced that the Monterey Ranger District will host a public workshop as part of its development of a visitor use management strategy to address recreation trends and visitor use of coastal areas managed by the Forest Service along the Big Sur coast and California State Highway One.
The public is invited to attend the open house workshop from 10 am to 3 pm on June 8 at the Big Sur Lodge located at 47225 Highway One. The workshop will be open to all members of the public who are interested in sharing ideas, concerns, and potential management actions.
The visitor use management project is focused on National Forest System lands that are accessed from Highway One from Andrew Molera State Park in the north to San Carpoforo beach in the south and stretching inland to approximately the Nacimiento Summit. This includes portions of the Ventana and Silver Peak Wilderness areas and the Big Sur Wild and Scenic River that are accessed from the coast.
Big Sur is a national and international travel destination that is experiencing unprecedented visitation resulting in traffic congestion, expanded levels of dispersed/concentrated camping on previously undisturbed areas, and an increased potential for an accidental wildfire ignition.
Following the Visitor Use Management Framework, a process outlined by the Interagency Visitor Use Management Council, the goal of this project is to provide sustainable recreation opportunities and access by identifying desired conditions, adaptive management strategies, and management tools.
Those who are interested in the planning process are invited to attend the public workshop for all or part of the scheduled time. If you are unable to attend the workshop, you are invited to review the project information and provide input via the online Coastal Zone Visitor Use Management StoryMap (see “Get Involved” tab for collaborative map options) or by e-mail to SM.FS.BigSurVisUse@usda.gov.
Questions may be directed to Monterey Ranger District Resource Officer Fin Eifert by e-mail to john.eifert@usda.gov or by calling (831) 385-5434.
###
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lende
If you live in the back country and/or are an inholder in the LPNF, you might want to print up a dozen of these notices and carry them with you.
For Immediate Release
May 26, 2022
Media Contact: Andrew Madsen
(805) 895-0841
andrew.madsen@usda.gov
Twitter: @LosPadresNF
Fire restrictions take effect
on Los Padres National Forest
SOLVANG, Calif.— In response to the increasing potential for a wildland fire start, Los Padres National Forest officials announced that fire restrictions will be implemented throughout the Forest effective May 27. These restrictions will affect the use of campfires, stoves, smoking materials, and internal combustion engines, and will remain in effect until January 31, 2023.
Effective May 27, the following restrictions will be in effect:
For a list of Developed Recreation Sites and Campfire Use Sites in Los Padres National Forest, or further information regarding Fire-Safe Camping, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/lpnf or contact the U.S. Forest Service district office nearest you.
###
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
This electronic message contains information generated by the USDA solely for the intended recipients. Any unauthorized interception of this message or the use or disclosure of the information it contains may violate the law and subject the violator to civil or criminal penalties. If you believe you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete the email immediately.
