Well it’s been an interesting year, here at Xasáuan Today. We’ve looked at the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply problems and picked apart the county’s transportation dilemma. We’ve questioned development on eroding beaches and dissected the Light Brown Apple Moth. We’ve chimed in on local political issues. We’ve gone on some bike rides, examined some mushrooms, and even found time for a visit to Pat Springs.
But nothing gets attention quite like a fire. Read the rest of this entry »
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Big Sur, Carmel River, Coastal Development/Erosion, Courts, Cycling, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Fungus, History, Insects, Living Wage, On Foot, Politics, Santa Lucias, Transportation, Water | 
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Posted by xasauan
While the Monterey Peninsula got only a fraction of an inch, the highest Ventana ridges may have gotten as much as 3 inches of rain in the 24 hours ending at 9:00 this morning. Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
Some small new fires created an impressive traffic jam on Hwy. One in Big Sur today. Read the rest of this entry »
1 Comment | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
10:00AM Sunday November 2 Update
The 2-3 inches of rain that fell yesterday and last night over the Santa Lucia Mountains has almost certainly brought this horrendous fire season to a definitive end. Read the rest of this entry »
18 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
11:20AM August 15 Update
The Lightning Tracker indicates that the most active parts of the storm are now offshore and weakening.
August 15, 10:45AM
Over 2,500 lightening strikes have been reported in Santa Barbara & San Luis Obispo Counties this morning with only light rain. Multiple fires have been started (including one on the north side of Hwy. 101 at Cuesta Grade). The storm is reported to be moving north …
Here’s hoping it runs out of steam or moves out to sea before it reaches the unburned portions of the south coast.
From the National Weather Service:
AT 915 AM...DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THE STRONGEST STORM JUST SOUTH OF CAMBRIA...AFFECTING HIGHWAYS 1 AND 46. THESE STORMS WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING RAINFALL UP TO TWO TENTHS OF AN INCH...AS WELL AS DANGEROUS CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. WHILE THIS IMPULSE OF STORMS IS EXPECTED TO MOVE OFF THE COAST BY AFTERNOON...THERE IS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF ADDITIONAL THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS LATER THIS AFTERNOON.
2 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
Burned slopes, like the ones in this photo, are ripe for landslides – in fact rivers of gravel and small stones are already flowing down them. Read the rest of this entry »
7 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Tagged: big sur fires, debris flows | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
The last fire to burn through the Big Sur Valley was the Molera Fire in 1972 (we originally wrote 1974, but Sean Shadwell, who has clearly done less to damage his memory during the ensuing years, reminded us that it was really 1972). Whatever the year, the day itself was certainly memorable.
14 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, History, Santa Lucias | Tagged: 1974, Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Fred Farr, Molera | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
This page (and the many pages that follow) contain our day by day, hour by hour, blow by blow account of the Basin Complex Fires that burned through the Santa Lucia mountains June – August 2008. For information on the Chalk Fire, which broke out on the South Coast Ridge the evening of September 27 and burned throughout the month of October, please see our Chalk Fire pages. Please be aware that we have left these pages pretty much as they were created – so some off-site links may no longer be active.
For the latest information on fire, flood & storm see our Big Sur/Ventana Wilderness Fire/Flood Links Page featuring weather forecasts, weather radar, stream & rain gauge monitors, webcams, local blogs and much, much more.
229 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Tagged: Apple Pie Ridge, Basin Fire, Big Sur, Cachagua, Carmel Valley, Deetjen's, Esalen, Gallery Fire, Henry Miller Library, Little Sur, Mescal Ridge, MODIS, Molera, Nepenthe, Palo Colorado, Pfeiffer, Pico Blanco, Tassajara, thermal image fire maps, Uncle Sam Mountain, USFS, Ventana | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
It started out as an unremarkable walk at Soberanes. Just a bit warmer than usual … Read the rest of this entry »
11 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, On Foot, Santa Lucias | Tagged: Dry Lightning, Funnel Cloud, Garrapata State Park, Monterey Peninsula, Santa Cruz, Soberanes Creek | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
The brushy summit of Mt. Carmel Read the rest of this entry »
4 Comments | Big Sur, On Foot, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
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