Second Carmel Lagoon “Emergency” in Less Than a Month

The water rises

Heavy surf began throwing waves over the sandbar late last night and by four in the morning a new “emergency” had been declared and the County Dozers were back in action trying to breach the bar and keep the water out of the lagoon-bottom homes.

Waves Rebuild Carmel River Lagoon Sandbar

Less than a week after the County drained the Carmel Lagoon to prevent flooding, waves have thrown up a new sandbar

Carmel Lagoon Breached in Annual “Emergency” Ritual

The Carmel River Lagoon drains into the ocean through the newly bulldozed cut

Every year when the Carmel River begins to flow it backs up behind the sandbar at the beach and threatens to flood homes built on the floor of the lagoon. And every year the County shows up with bulldozers and breaches the sandbar to protect the homes. The breaching empties the lagoon, saves the homes, and washes out to sea juvenile steelhead not yet prepared to survive in salt water.

Rivers Rise as Deluge gets Rainy Season Underway

Well, the remnants of Typhoon Melor proved to be every bit as wet as advertised. As it so often does, Mining Ridge (above Big Creek) took the prize with a whopping 21.34 inches of rain. Accumulations of over 10 inches were common at higher elevations in the Santa Lucia’s and, while we haven’t heard of any serious debris flow problems, the rivers and creeks went from trickle to torrent in only a few hours.

Time to Throw a Tarp over the Woodpile

And weight it down with a few extra rocks, while you’re at it. Not only are they still calling for heavy rain tonight and tomorrow, they’re also calling for wind up to 60mph on the coast, stronger at higher elevations.

Stormy Tuesday?

The calm before the storm?

Following last year’s fires, Big Sur sweated through the rainy season knowing that a single heavy rain could unleash destructive debris flows. And, amazingly, although the total rainfall for the year was close to normal, the rain spread itself out so evenly throughout the season that, with a few minor exceptions, all trouble was avoided. Can anyone remember another year, other than major drought years, when Big Sur didn’t get even one serious rain?

Fire Storm: Thermal Satellite Maps Track the Growth of Southern California’s Station Fire

The Station Fire ignited about 3:30pm on Wednesday, August 26, at approximately the spot indicated along the side of the Angeles Crest Highway in the Angeles National Forest.

Gloria Fire Threatening Homes East of Soledad

In a repeat of yesterday’s Bryson Fire, that ignited in the early afternoon and had burned over 1,500 acres by sundown, today’s Gloria Fire (that broke out about 2:45) has already burned more than 2,000 acres. It appears to be moving southeast through the Gabilans east of Soledad. Homes in Bryant and Stonewall canyon are threatened.

Hopefully, as happened with the Bryson Fire, the intensity will diminish overnight – but we haven’t seen much sign of that yet.

Fire Threatening Bryson-Hesperia

A fire has broken out along Interlake Rd. in south Monterey County this afternoon (Wednesday 8-26-09) and is threatening the rural community of Bryson-Hesperia (better known to some as Bison-Hysteria). The fire reportedly started just north of the Bryson-Hesperia road and is burning on both sides of Interlake Rd.

Our thoughts are with the people of Bryson-Hesperia and with the firefighters currently trying to get a handle on the blaze in very difficult conditions.

Basin Complex Fire Revisited: Part 1 (6/21/08 – 6/26/08)

Saturday, June 21, 2008; one year ago today

A warm, sunny and unusually humid day.