Remnants of Hurricane Dolores Bring Lightning and Rain

July 19, 2015

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Lightningmaps.org image depicting lightning strikes detected between 6:30 and 7:30 this morning. The storm reached our area around 4:30 am and was still producing some strikes, mainly offshore, at 9:00 am.

The remnants of Hurricane Dolores, which brought intense thunderstorms to Southern California yesterday, reached the Northern Santa Lucias, Carmel Valley, and the Monterey Peninsula early this morning. While heavy rain fell in some areas, it doesn’t appear to have lasted long enough to produce significant totals. No Monterey County rain gauge seems to have received much more than a couple tenths of an inch, and most received only hundredths of an inch. Read the rest of this entry »

3 Comments | Big Sur, Fire, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Bear Turns Up Near Garrapata State Park

July 13, 2015

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Black Bear (Ursus americanus)

A bear was sighted this morning and trash cans found knocked over on private property immediately adjacent to Garrapata State Park. Don’t know if it was the same bear that visited Pt. Lobos and the Monterey Peninsula last month making his way back from the “remote location” where he was released, or a new bear, but keep your eyes open and secure your trash.

Black bears are not particularly dangerous. In spite of there being as many as 40,000 wild bears in California, no one has been killed by one in more than 100 years. They are capable of a good deal of property damage, though, and the way to prevent that is to avoid attracting them in the first place.

Black bears have been slowly moving into the Northern Santa Lucia mountains for many years and it is inevitable that bear sightings will continue.

1 Comment | Big Sur | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Monterey Peninsula Water Use Still Climbing

July 2, 2015

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Monterey Peninsula graffiti may not be up to the standards of the LBC, but we can still match them in water consumption.

Residential water use in the Monterey Peninsula Cal Am service area jumped to 58.8 gallons per person per day in May. This is up from 55.8 gallons in April. The increase drops the Monterey Peninsula from 29th place on the list of the state’s most water-frugal cities and water districts, all the way down into an ignominious 48th place tie with Long Beach. How long ago now seems that glorious wet December of 2014, when Peninsula residents turned off their landscape irrigation systems and used only a little over 33 gallons per person per day; the second lowest total in the state. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Carmel River, Politics, Water | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Bear Turns up in Pacific Grove

June 14, 2015

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Another bear, or possibly the same bear that was spotted in Robinson Canyon a couple of weeks ago (the size appears to be similar), turned up in Pacific Grove today. Read the rest of this entry »

4 Comments | Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Peanut Fire Burning at Ft. Hunter-Liggett

June 11, 2015

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Heat detections recorded around 2:00pm today

Presumably as a result of yesterday’s lightning, there is at least one fire, dubbed the Peanut Fire, now burning at Ft. Hunter Liggett. The fire is said to be in the Stony Valley area, along the Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd. That would correspond with the upper three heat detections shown above. No telling whether the lower detections are a separate fire or not. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Big Sur, Fire, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Lightning Detected in Ventana Wilderness

June 10, 2015

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LightningMaps.org map showing approximate location of lightning strike near the headwaters of the North Fork Big Sur River.

A thunderstorm is now moving over the Ventana Wilderness and, in addition to the strike depicted above, lightening strikes have been detected near Pinyon Peak, just downstream from Lost Valley and, most recently (3:00 pm), in the wild country between Zig Zag and Willow Creeks and near San Antonio Camp.

A far more vigorous storm has been working over the Southern Diablo Range near Coalinga and Ft. Hunter-Liggett has also reported downstrikes.

Let’s hope there’s some significant rain falling. It’s pretty dry out there.

June 11 2015 Update: No fires have yet appeared in the Ventana Wilderness as a result of yesterday’s lightning, but a fire, named the Peanut Fire, is now burning near the Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd. in Ft. Hunter-Liggett. As of noon today, it had burned 700 acres and there are rumors that it may burn as much as 3,000 acres before it’s through. No word on the situation with the NF road, but it is probably safe to assume it is closed through the fort.

Leave a Comment » | Big Sur, Diablo Range, Fire, Gabilans, Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Monterey Peninsula Water Use Inches Upward Again

June 9, 2015

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A dry start to June

According to the latest report from the State Water Resources Control Board, residential water use in the Monterey Peninsula Cal-Am service area reached 55.8 gallons per person per day in April. This is up from 54.2 gallons per person per day in March, and 45 gallons per person per day in February. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Carmel River, Politics, Water | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Bears on the Move

June 7, 2015

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A couple of years ago we discussed the fact that May and June are the prime months for bear sightings on the Monterey Peninsula. This is because May and June are the months when male and female black bears wander beyond the usual limits of their territories in search of mates.

So it’s not a surprise that a black bear was spotted on lower Robinson Canyon Rd. in Carmel Valley earlier this week. Always good to know they’re out there.

See the San Clemente Rancho Facebook page for pics.

1 Comment | Santa Lucias | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Water Agency Sets Meeting to Discuss State of the Basin Report

May 23, 2015

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The Salinas Valley

The Monterey County Water Resources Agency is inviting the pubic to attend a workshop on Tuesday, May 26, at the Monterey County Office of Education Meeting Rooms, 901 Blanco Circle, in Salinas, where the findings of the State of the Salinas River Groundwater Basin Report will be “discussed and clarified.” Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Fire, Politics, Water | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

43 California Communities Now Using Less Water Per Person Per Day Than the Monterey Peninsula

May 20, 2015

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The silted up San Clemente Dam awaits demolition

Recently published residential water consumption figures show residents of the Monterey Peninsula increasing their water use to an average of 54.2 gallons per person per day during March. This is up a bit from the 52 gallons per person per day used in January and February and drops the Monterey Peninsula from 29th place in the statewide water conservation sweepstakes, down to 44th. At 50 gallons per person per day, King City residents remain the best water conservationists in Monterey County. Read the rest of this entry »

3 Comments | Carmel River, Politics, Water | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

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