Monterey Co. extends emergency declarations for storms

UPDATE 2/22/2017 8:25 p.m.:

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved extending two emergency declarations for damage up until February 20. One declaration is for the Big Sur area, the other is for the rest of Monterey County.

“It’s to allow the county to keep making these expenditures to clear trees, to deal with the landslides, other damage to infrastructure, such as their drainage and our streets, there’s a lot of work that got to get done,” said Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo. “This allows us to keep spending that money with the commitment that we’ll seek reimbursement by our state and federal agencies.”

A preliminary price tag on the damage is $35 million, but that’s not including the state-owned Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge in Big Sur.

It’s been closed for days, after it was discovered one of the columns not only had cracks, but was washing out. Caltrans has deemed the 350-foot span unsafe and work is already underway to find a permanent fix.

“That’s going to be a multi-million dollar project and Caltrans representatives say it could perhaps take up to a year, but they’re wanting to move quickly, they’re already designing but construction is hopefully going to take several months,” Alejo said.

Caltrans said it was too early to know a timetable or price tag but because it is considered an emergency repair, work would be expedited.

Highway 1 south of Palo Colorado is closed because of a number of landslides in the area. According to Kirk Gafill, the president of the Big Sur Chamber of Commerce, there are more than 430 people stranded in three different isolated pockets on the coast. He said the major need right now is fuel, whether it’s gas, diesel or propane.

“If they don’t have emergency power, they may not be able to pump their wells, so they may not have water,” Gafill said. “They are in their homes and businesses, they may not be able to use heating systems, so on these colder days and nights, it’s very challenging to keep their houses warm. Of course, refrigeration of perishables and freezers that have longer term food storage are at risk of losing what food stocks they have.”

According to a Facebook post on Wednesday night, the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services hopes to have Highway 1 south of Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge to San Luis Obispo temporarily opened by the end of the week.

“Highway 1 will be open south from Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge to San Luis Obispo, to allow for local access and local resupply. Pending confirmation from Caltrans, it is currently anticipated that access will be provided from 12 PM to 5 PM on Friday, February 24, 2017, and from 7 AM to 5 PM on Saturday, February 25, 2017. Access will then be closed until upcoming weekend weather event passes and Caltrans has opportunity to reevaluate road conditions.”

In a worst case scenario, county leaders they’ll recruit resources from above to help residents if they’re still stranded.

“We’re going to have to use helicopter services to get supplies and medicine and other things for those families and the businesses that are in those isolated pockets and helicopter service alone will cost the county $12,000 a week for one day per week service,” Alejo said.

Some residents are taking the storms with stride. Clay Scicluna has been without gas or power for four days.
“At the same time it’s nice to enjoy the downtime, it’s been pretty hectic the last few years with the explosion of tourism, so it’s alright, everything’s fine,” Scicluna said.

ORIGINAL POST:

Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge on Highway 1 in Big Sur is closed, as Caltrans crews continue assessing movement and fractures.Crews closed the bridge last Wednesday in anticipation of continued damage from more storms. Some residents and visitors are trapped between closures on the highway.But Wednesday morning, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors approved two emergency resolutions, allowing the county to use emergency funds to fix damaged areas. Some damage includes landslides that has damaged the Caltrans-owned Pfeiffer Canyon bridge, causing it to be deemed unsafe and isolating communities in the area.

The county plans to pursue reimbursements from the state. KION’s Mariana Hicks will have more on the fate of the bridge.