Tag: Highway One

Rain and Road Reports, 1/9/17

2:30 pm – From Lucas Cotterman of Partington

img_1794

And another, possibly near JPB? Photo by Erin Boubel

img_1789

10:30 Photos to the south. It is dangerous, but passable for the moment. Photos by Inga Dorosz of Gorda:

 

10 am – Brian just came back from checking this out and has this to say:

“Just came back from the fernwood slide on from the south. Multiple power lines down and a there was a car pushed off the road when it slid. Everyone is safe. I think this one will take quite awhile to clear.”

South of Fernwood. Photo by Jen Smith:

img_1783

8 am – From Todd:

“Had a slip not far in from hoist has left less than six feet of road. Impassable at this time. This is where one of the retaining walls burnt out during the fire. ”

First up from Sander Koning, near Nepenthe:

img_1780

Paul’s Slide – night photo

Photo by Brendon Shave

img_1775

If anyone thinks they are going to get through, show them this.

Highway One to close tonight

UPDATE; Around 7:30 pm, the closure was pushed back to Fuller’s at MM 42. I know there is a tree blocking both lanes near Esalen, and there may be other issues I haven’t heard about.

Highway 1 will be closing at 4:30 PM tonight from Ragged Point to Lucia (MM 23)

Rain & Road Reports, Sunday, 1/8/17

Incident: 00329 Type: Traffic Hazard Location: SR1 / BIG CREEK Loc Desc: NB JSO Lat/Lon: 36.069587 -121.599060
Detail Information
1:36 PM 2 [3] 1039 DOT
1:36 PM 1 [2] LARGE BOULDER NB LANE

11:30 – Due to the current weather and road conditions, CPOA is postponing its Annual Meeting that was scheduled for this coming Tuesday. A new date will be announced in the near future.

oh, and btw, it is POURING here!

10 am – Several of our most talented and knowageable locals went and took a look at the log jam this am and came to this conclusion:

We (4 guys) got out this morning at first light to evaluate the Redwood log jam on the Big Sur River. We sized up the situation under some down pours and gusty winds. The location is north of Saint Francis Church and south of “Dorwood” which is just south of the Grange. We accessed river left from a foot bridge over the river at this location.

The trees are the victims of an eroded river bank on a piece of State Park property and may not be the only trees to ultimately end up in the River. River left is getting scoured and is undermining the root balls of the remaining trees.
(River side determined by facing down stream),

The obvious solution is to cut the ends of the trees in a way that allowed the trunks to rotate parallel with the flow of the river. And I’m prepared to jump in and just do it, but aside from the danger, it is entirely possible that the trunks could realign in a way that took out the remaining bridges (4) downstream. I’d rather not be known as the guy who took out Brewer’s Bridge.

Aside from the issue of staging, which might be insurmountable, getting a crane involved would be hairy as well, under the current circumstances. The river is pulsing with a lot of energy and the hydraulics could easily out wit and out muscle that piece of equipment.

So, as in most things involving nature, I think we let her take her course, cross our fingers and keep an eye on it until the river goes down

Highway One to open at 11 am.

img_1758img_1760

9 am – San Lorenzo River predicted to top 21 feet by 9 pm this evening. Flood stage is 16.5 feet.

8:30 am –

Big Sur Station Rain Totals:
Storm Total: 4.46″ (since Friday at 4 p.m.)
Overnight Total: 1.4″ (since Saturday at 8 p.m.)
We still have electricity & internet.
The station will be open from 9-4 today. (Thank you Tim Bills)

7:45 am – it has been quiet here since midnight, except for the wind. Most of the lightning and thunder and hail between midnight and 1 am was to the north of here. Little rain at the moment, but predictions are the storm will move southward this afternoon. The road is open north of Lucia, apparently, as I have seen or heard nothing to indicate otherwise. CHP still lists the closures of Palo Colorado, OCR, and south from Lucia to Ragged Point. Crews are probably already out down here on the south end taking care of the constant slides. I am actually going to get my first cup of coffee before 8 am this morning. As always, I will be monitoring throughout the day. Stay safe and aware.

HIGHWAY ONE TO CLOSE AT 4 PM

Detail Information
2:09 PM 3 [4] 1039 SALCOMM W/INFO
2:06 PM 2 [3] REQ TO NTFY TMC AND NTFY MTRY COMM PRIOR TO 1600 HRS
2:06 PM 1 [1] CLOSE SR1 AT 1600 HRS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE CAL TRANS LUCIA AT RAGGED

Rain & Road Reports, 1/5/17

2:30 pm – I am adding the following link to the Carmel River Watershed to my list of links to the right, but you might want to bookmark it. You will really want to watch this this weekend. Remember the Bailey Bridge???

Carmel River Watershed

1:15 Highway completely open.

11:45 am – Okay, got the notice from Cal Trans. Just as they were getting ready to open, Paul’s Slide (MM 21.6) dumped. Mud Creek (MM 8.8) is now open to LOCALS ONLY, who can get from Ragged Point to MM 20, but not past Pauls Slide. Another assessment at 2 pm,

9 am – Cal Trans sent out a notice that Highway One remains closed this morning. They will reassess the situation at 11 am. I will notify all here at that time, so check back around 11;30.

On another note, my AirPort Extreme quit, so I am trying to configure up an old lap top so that I can connect with my satellite, without too much luck. I can still post here and do emails with my cell service, it is just slow and sometimes intermittent.

As to FB, we are still battling, but I don’t think they will let me use BigSur Kate. I may have to use Kate “bigsurkate” Novoa. Still working with them, sort of. Despite all the comments emails, etc. They are being a horse’s a$$

Rain & Road Reports 1/4/17

Here are the rain totals from NWS for Big Sur. Note how high they were on the South Coast:

72 Hr Storm total rainfall Big Sur coast. #AtmosphericRiver
Anderson Peak 11.72
Mining Ridge 9.67
Chalk Peak 12.59
Three Peaks 13.17

Riverside Campground this morning, by Wendy Waters.

img_1734

As of 1 pm, Cal Trans (CT) has no ETA on when they will be able to open the highway. I expect an update around dusk.

Here is a photo of the Big Sur River near the Lodge by Howard Jones:

img_1732

Okay, now this is scary. This map shows a maximum of 45″ in the next 10 days. (See top of chart in white on right.) Yeah, in the brightest purple spots, which seems to include Big Sur.

img_1728

10 am – Well, here you g0. The South Coast got hammered and it is still raining, although not as hard. FYI, I am between Chalk Peak and Three Peaks:

img_1727

 

From Barbara Sexton, just before the Post Office:

img_1726

Atmospheric River Explained:

img_1725

8:30 am another yucky one from Lisa K – ashes to the ocean

img_1724

8:3o am – Per Sander Koning: “There’s a new active slide right north of the Hawthorne home driveway east side of the highway.”

8 am – Black water coming out of Garrapata Creek. Photo by Lisa Kleissner:

img_1723

6 am – I have received 5″ of rain, 3 of them since midnight. Currently raining at the rate of 1″ an hour. I think the meteorologists nailed this one.

In addition to the road being closed from Fuller’s (42.2 MM) and Ragged Point, there is this vehicle vs. slide at Ventana:

Incident: 00101 Type: Trfc Collision-No Inj Location: Sr1 / Ventana Loc Desc: SR1 / VENTANA, MM 44.9 Lat/Lon: 36.233742 -121.767075
Detail Information
6:11 AM 5 [7] [Rotation Request Comment] 1039 CARMEL / 831-24-3827
6:10 AM 4 [6] VEH IFO VENTANA
6:08 AM 3 [5] VEH IS RENTAL / WILL NEED 1110
6:07 AM 2 [4] VEH ON RS / FLASHERS ON
6:05 AM 1 [2] VEH VS SLIDE

Road Conditions, 1/03/17

And another:

Incident: 00405 Type: Traffic Hazard Location: Sr1 At Pacific Valley, Mm 14.6 Loc Desc: MY-001-0146 Lat/Lon: 35.947120 -121.477310
Detail Information
9:24 PM 5 [8] 1039 S4, ADVZD TO HAVE 62G CONTIN AFTER CLEARING MY270
9:18 PM 4 [4] WHI JEEP HIT TREE BUT CONTINUED ON
9:17 PM 3 [3] PER RP TREE IS ACROSS THE RDWY
9:16 PM 2 [2] 1 VEH HAS ALREADY HIT IT
9:15 PM 1 [1] TREE DOWN IN RDWY

It is beginning …

Incident: 00372 Type: Traffic Hazard Location: Sr1 N / Lighthouse Loc Desc: NB 1 AT THE LIGHTHOUSE Lat/Lon: 36.312467 -121.888747
Detail Information
8:15 PM 5 [8] PER DOT WILL NOT SEND EQUIP OUT AT THIS TIME OF NIGHT BUT WILL RESP TO CLOSE HWY
8:14 PM 4 [7] PER 27-S4 UNIT WILL ASSESS AND ADVISE IF DOT NEEDS TO RESP FOR RD CLOSURE
8:14 PM 3 [5] 1039 DOT JOHNSTON
8:07 PM 2 [4] 1039 DOT MR CORTEZ
8:04 PM 1 [2] LGE BOULDER IN THE NB LN
Unit Information
8:08 PM 1 Unit Assigned

Road Conditions – South Coast

From CHP:

Incident: 00315 Type: Traffic Hazard Location: SR1 S / GORDA Loc Desc: SB 1 JSO GORDA Lat/Lon: 35.842500 -121.401944
Detail Information
4:04 PM 3 [8] 1039 CT DIST 5 / WCB
4:03 PM 2 [7] VEH JUST HIT IT
4:03 PM 1 [4] 1125 SB LN, 3 BOULDERS THAT TUMBLED
I’m guessing Mud Creek.

Rain Reports & Road Conditions, 12/15/16

8:30 pm – the highway closed at 8pm, there was a car on its roof at the Big Sur Station, and now we are under a flood warning:

“FLASH FLOOD WARNING – Soberanes & Chimney Burn Scars
This message is for any of the areas inside/alongside/or down-slope of the Soberanes or Chimney Burn Scars. The National Weather Service has issued a FLASH FLOOD WARNING for your area. A WARNING is issued when a hazardous weather or hydrologic event is occurring, is imminent, or has a very high probability of occurring. A WARNING is used for conditions posing a threat to life or property.”

6:30 PM – it just got serious. 40 mph, 1/3″ an hour. Total so far today, 1.35″

3:3-0 pm – Many rock/mudslides in   Santa Cruz being reported.

2:30 pm – up to .60″ and it is just getting going.

1 pm – here are the graphs, yesterday’s (again) and today’s which is quite higher.

img_1669img_1671

Noon:

Rain: I have received .28″ thus far, steady, but light all morning. Also received .25″ yesterday by dark. Nepenthe is up to .34″ thus far. This is what the automated gauges have recorded as of 11 am:

img_1670

Roads:  As far as the roads, no big problems being reported, but there are bound to be rocks out on Highway One, so pay attention as you travel, and report what needs reporting.