We’ve noticed over the past few weeks that this site has started receiving traffic from people using variations of the phrase “How to sneak into Sykes Hot Springs” as search terms. Since we have not, until now, provided any information on that subject, those people have, no doubt, found their visits here disappointing.
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Big Sur, On Foot, Santa Lucias | 
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Posted by xasauan
A line of thunderstorms produced hundreds of lightning strikes over the Ventana Wilderness this morning. While the lightning was accompanied, at least in places, by torrential rain, it is unclear whether the heavy rain was as widespread as the lightning.
The Black Cone rain gauge, in the center of the Ventana Wilderness, recorded a healthy .63 inches of rain, and over a tenth of an inch was recorded along the coast between Lucia and the Big Sur Valley. Unfortunately, gauges further north, like White Rock, Ponciano Ridge, Hastings and Los Padres Dam have, apparently, received less than a hundredth of an inch – and multiple lightning strikes have been detected in these areas.
Hopefully, any smokes that appear over the next few days can be extinguished quickly.
10:30 am Update: A new, more northerly, line of rain has brought .08 inches to the White Rock, Ponciano, and Los Padres Dam gauges during the past hour. All rain has now moved offshore, so let’s hope that was enough.
Noon Update: At least one of this morning’s lightning strikes has already resulted in fire. Forest Service crews are currently putting out a lightning caused fire near the Indians.
6:00 pm Update: Lightning and showers continued throughout the day, but have now mainly moved north into Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties. It looks like nearly all the spot fires started in Monterey County by lightning today, including the Milpitas Fire near the Indians, have been contained. The largest so far has been the Gloria Fire, in the Gabilan range, which was contained at just 9 acres. A great job by firefighters to stay ahead of things on such a difficult day.
2 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Gabilans, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
Santa Cruz Mountains
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1 Comment | Big Sur, Cycling, On Foot, Sailing | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
What harm could there be in having a little campfire?
Those who live in, or near, California’s fire-prone wildlands tend to get pretty jumpy around the Fourth of July. Many refuse to travel to town for parades and parties; preferring instead to stay at home re-checking water systems and sharpening chain saw blades. Their eyes crawl up to scan the sky for smoke so frequently it becomes a nervous tic. They sniff the air so often that they appear to be suffering from nasal congestion. They fly into a rage at the sight of anyone building campfires or using fireworks.
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4 Comments | Big Sur, Coastal Development/Erosion, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
Punta Barro: Big Sur’s newest geographical feature (photo credit: Rock Knocker)
The Santa Lucia Mountains are very young. At just 5 million years old, they are still in the process of being born – punching upward out of the Pacific faster than the forces of wind, waves, rain, and gravity can wear them down. Their steep, unstable seaward wall, rising to over 5,000 feet at Cone Peak, is constantly eroding, sliding and collapsing into the sea.
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9 Comments | Big Sur, Coastal Development/Erosion, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, History, Santa Lucias, Transportation | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
The Highway has been mostly closed for over a month now, but sooner or later it will be business as usual again.
There’s been concern expressed recently about the safety of Highway One through Big Sur. Not concern about the inherent danger of a narrow, twisting road perched on the side of a cliff, but concern about new dangers created by congestion and overcrowding.
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8 Comments | Big Sur, Cycling, Politics, Transportation | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
South Coast oaks in the rain
Heavy pre-dawn rain has pushed the Big Sur River above the 10-foot level that marks its official “flood stage” for the fifth time in less than two months.
As of 9:00 am, the river was at 10.30 feet, which indicates a flow of 3,530 cubic feet per second.
On January 12, the Big Sur River hit 12.34 feet (or 7,650 cfs – more than twice the current flow); the second highest peak recorded since the gauge was installed. The highest was an amazing 10,700 cfs, recorded in January 1978, following the Marble Cone Fire.
This morning’s rain can’t be helping the situation at Pfeiffer Gulch, where a slide has been slowly pulling down the Highway bridge. Interestingly, when the bridge was built in the 1960’s, Caltrans erroneously signed it as the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge and, taking their cue from the sign on the collapsing bridge, everyone now seems to be referring to the place as Pfeiffer Canyon.
It’s not the first time this ravine has undergone a name change or, apparently, had bridge trouble. According to Clark’s Monterey County Place Names, the Pfeiffers themselves knew the place as Burnt Bridge Creek.
See the Big Sur River Gauge here.
Noon Update: As of 11:45 the Big Sur River was still rising and had reached 10.85 feet, or 4,370 cfs.
1:00 pm Update: As of 12:45, the Big Sur River had reached 11.07 feet (4,730 cfs). The Carmel River is also rising and is projected to crest more than a foot above its January high water mark. If this happens, there will almost certainly be some flood damage.
2:00 pm Update: The Big Sur River has been level at 11.10 feet (4,790 cfs) for the past half hour. Rain is expected to become more intense this evening, so another rise will be possible tonight.
5:30 pm Update: As of 5:15 pm, the Big Sur River had receded to 10.3 feet (3,530 cfs); which is still above flood stage. Rain is beginning to pick up again over the Big Sur watershed and, if that continues, the river may begin rising again soon.
7:00 pm Update: Hard rain is falling and the Big Sur River is on the rise again. 10.40 feet (3,680 cfs) as of 6:30 pm.
9:00 pm Update: The Big Sur River is rising quickly and has surpassed this afternoon’s peak. As of 8:45 it was at 11.78 feet (5,960 cfs).
10:00 pm Update: Has the Big Sur River found its peak? It made it to around 12.22 feet, just shy of last month’s high water mark of 12.34 feet (the 2nd highest peak ever recorded), but has now (as of 9:45 pm) dropped back to 11.97 feet (6,310 cfs).
11:30 pm Update: The Big Sur River is rising again and, as of 11:15 pm, was back to 12.13 feet (6,570 cfs).
Midnight Update: That rise was short-lived. The Big Sur River is back under 12 feet and falling. Unless unexpectedly heavy rains arrive, it should continue to fall throughout the night.
12:30 pm 2-21-17 Update: The Big Sur River finally went back below flood stage around 11:00 this morning. Its twin peaks last night may have been a bit lower than the January high water mark, but the fact that it remained above flood stage for more than 24 hours is probably some kind of record.
As of 11:45 am, it was at 9.9 feet (2,940 cfs).
1 Comment | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, History, Santa Lucias | Tagged: Pfeiffer Canyon, Pfeiffer Gulch | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
Waterfall in the upper Big Sur drainage: You have to wonder what places like this look like right now…
The Big Sur River has done it again. As of 7:30, it is back over flood stage at 10.31 feet (4,620 cfs). Still a ways to go to match Sunday’s peak of 11.80 feet (6,820 cfs).
7:45 pm Update: Now 10.54 feet (4,950 cfs).
8:15 pm Update: Now 10.82 feet (5,360 cfs).
8:30 pm Update: Now 11.17 feet (5,890 cfs). Flow just increased by 530 cfs in only 15 minutes.
8:45 pm Update: Now 11.30 feet (6,080 cfs).
9:00 pm Update: Now 11.34 feet (6,140 cfs).
9:15 pm Update: Now 11.29 feet (6,070 cfs). Looks like we may have found the peak.
Also at 9:15, the National Weather Service placed a Severe Flash Flood Warning on the Soberanes Fire Burn area, due to heavy rain. They say they expect the Big Sur River to continue to rise.
Radar, in the other hand, indicates that rain over the Big Sur watershed is easing.
9:45 pm Update: Looks like the decline was just a hiccough. The Big Sur River is now at 11.44 feet (6,290 cfs). The NWS was right.
10:15 pm Update: Now 11.73 feet (6,720 cfs) – only 80 cfs below Sunday’s peak.
10:30 pm Update: Now 11.76 (6,760 cfs) – only 40 cfs below Sunday’s peak.
11:00 pm Update: The Big Sur River is now at 12.01 feet (7,150 cfs) – the second highest level ever measured on this stream. The greatest was 14,30 feet (10,700 cfs), in 1978. That record won’t likely be challenged tonight.
11:15 pm Update: Now 12.13 feet (7,330 cfs).
11:30 pm Update: Now 12.34 feet (7,650 cfs) – another quick rise.
11:45 pm Update: Now 12.25 feet (7,510 cfs). Another hiccough, or has the peak finally passed?
Midnight Update: Now 12.20 feet (7,430 cfs). Looks like the peak has really passed this time.
The main concern now is how high the Carmel River will go. It is still rising at the Los Padres Dam and is already higher there than it got on Sunday.
7:00 am Update: It looks like the Carmel River peaked at around 9.1 feet (just over flood stage) at Rosie’s Bridge in the early morning hours. That’s a bit over 7,000 cfs. The peak is now near the river mouth, where it has swollen to over 10,000 cfs – thanks to runoff from Garzas Creek and other lower tributaries.
4 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
Big Sur Rain
Shortly before 3:00 pm this afternoon, the Big Sur River pushed its gauge above the 10 foot level that marks the official flood stage. The gauge was at 10.04 feet by 3:00, or 4,250 cubic feet per second. The river reached a peak flow of 4,950 cfs last Wednesday (10.54 feet).
Heavy rain is still falling over the Big Sur watershed at this time, but should begin decreasing soon as the storm moves off to the south. The watershed is small, so the river won’t keep rising for long, once the rain relents. Serious flooding is unlikely to occur until the gauge height exceeds 11 feet.
3:30 pm Update: River now at 5,250 cfs (Gauge height 10.75). That’s an increase of 1,000 cfs in half an hour.
4:00 pm Update: River now at 6,020 cfs (11.26 feet). Still rising quickly, though not as quickly. This is the largest flow the Big Sur River has seen since 6,590 cfs was recorded in February, 1998. Radar suggests heavy rain is still falling in the Big Sur watershed.
4:45 pm Update: River now at 6,420 cfs (11.53 feet). Rain may be easing some.
5:00 pm Update: Latest reading is 6,620 cfs (11.66 feet). This exceeds the 1998 flow and is the third highest flow ever recorded on the Big Sur River (after 1978 and 1995).
5:15 pm Update: Now the second largest flow ever recorded on the Big Sur River at 6,700 cfs (11.72 feet). With rain beginning to recede, there’s not much chance of it matching the 1978 flow of 10,700 cfs, I’m glad to say. Flows have been recorded since 1950.
5:30 pm Update: Still inching upward. Now 6,790 cfs (11.78 feet).
5:45 pm Update: 6,820 cfs (11.80 feet). How high will it go?
6:00 pm Update: Still 6,820 cfs at 6:00 pm. Have we finally found the peak?
6:15 pm Update: Yes! The river is now receding. 6,790 cfs (11.78 feet) at 6:15.
3 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
Heavy overnight rain falling on the Soberanes Fire burn scar has pushed the Big Sur River Gauge over the 10 foot level that is considered flood stage. The current level (at 6:00 am) is 10.48 feet. This translates to a flow of 4,860 cubic feet per second; essentially matching the 4,900 cfs peak flow of 2012 (which did not result in serious flood damage). The highest flow recorded at the Big Sur River Gauge, following the Marble Cone Fire in 1978, was 10,700 cfs.
The Big Sur River, with its smaller watershed, reacts to rain more quickly than the larger coastal streams. The Carmel River at Rosie’s Bridge is at 1,170 cfs and rising (peak flow there was 16,000 cfs in 1995).
The Arroyo Seco River Gauge is still only showing 161 cfs, but with some portions of its watershed receiving over 7 inches of overnight rain, the water will be rising quickly this morning.
The parched San Antonio River, which only began flowing past the gauge site on December 31, has only risen to 37 cfs… so far.
The Nacimiento River is at 4,350 cfs, an inconsequential amount for a stream that sometimes produces flows in excess of 50,000 cfs.
7:00 am Update: The Big Sur River is now above its 2012 peak; at 4,950 cfs (10.54 feet). The Arroyo Seco is at 1,140 cfs.
7:30 am Update: The Big Sur River has begun to drop. It’s currently at 4,720 cfs (10.38 feet). The Carmel River is up to 1,790 cfs. The Arroyo Seco is up to 1,990 cfs. The Nacimiento is up to 5,540 cfs.
9:30 am Update: The Big Sur River, at 9.95 feet (4,130 cfs), is no longer above flood stage. The Carmel River is at 2,630 cfs. The Arroyo Seco River has jumped to 7,560 cfs. The San Antonio River is barely changed at 39 cfs; and the Nacimiento now has the greatest flow, with 7,800 cfs. Some of the wettest spots along the Coast Ridge have received over 10 inches of rain since this storm began.
1:30 pm Update: The peaks have now passed on the local streams. It looks like the Nacimiento and Arroyo Seco rivers got up into the neighborhood of 12,000 cfs, or so, and the Carmel to around 2,700 cfs. The San Antonio, which must be dumping a lot of water into its bone dry aquifer, is still only pushing 41 cfs past the gauge.
With an even wetter storm forecast for this weekend, it would be prudent for those who live near streams to prepare for debris flows and the possibility of record, or near record, water levels.
7 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan
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