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Comment by Syd Carr on January 23, 2017 at 16:09

We were all hit pretty hard Jan, but NorCal got more of it. Aptos is just down the hill from Big Sur, and that whole area got clobbered. As much as the rain, the wind was off the scale too, and we had 50-60mph sustained winds at times last week. I have been fighting the flu, so have just stayed home, but went through numerous power outages in the last few days. There have been flash floods all over the place, and landslides, especially in the burned areas. Locally Hwy 1 from Ragged Point to Gorda is closed indefinitely in the southern Big Sur region due to numerous slides, and Hwy 41 from Morro Bay inland is closed at least until Feb due to slides. Atascadero is 10 miles as the crow flies from here, but it takes a forty mile roundabout drive to get there right now. Flash flood & landslide alerts remain in place for 2/3 of the coast all the way south to the border with Mexico, and like you know, that is a HUGE area spanning hundreds of miles. The one good thing is that a lot of reservoirs have finally began to fill up after being nearly depleted due to drought for several years. Ironically though, despite all this rain, we are only at 85% of "average" precipitation, so in reality the drought still remains a lingering issue.

The adage "when it rains it pours" is definitely a truism in California.

Comment by Jan Carter on January 23, 2017 at 14:55

Syd,

Praying you are all safe out there!  Just read that a childhood memory did not make it

http://www.ksbw.com/article/aptos-cement-ship-tossed-over-by-storm-...

Comment by Syd Carr on January 19, 2017 at 20:47

This is actually one of the very first places settled in California. In 1769 Don Gaspar de Portola came ashore at nearby Montana de Oro and named this area for all the bears that lived here; hence "Los Osos", (the bears). The little 5 block wide Baywood Park area where I live was the original settlement, and there are prehistoric native archeological sites from before the Spanish just down the street, (Chumash). Other than agriculture the main use of the area came from waterfowl hunting in Morro Bay's "back bay", and Baywood Park was originally basically just a collection of hunting clubs and cabins, (many of which remain). The building I live in was built in the 50's and is one of the newest structures on my street, many buildings down the way date from the 20's, (those that survived the 2003 earthquake that is). Many of the former hunting cabins are now small one/two bedroom rentals, and the former "road court" in downtown Baywood Park, right next door to me, (an old motel/cabins like on route 66), is now a laundromat but the buildings are all intact. The old timey gas station down at the corner came down in that '03 quake, it's now an empty lot. This neighborhood is actually one of, if not THE last undeveloped areas with coastal access on the central coast. There has been a construction moratorium here due to lack of sewer & water availability since the 80's that has held development back, but the sewer was finally finished this year, and if the water issue is solved I predict this area will soon become the new Carmel. In fact I know for certain that many vacant lots around here are owned by SOCAL real estate developers anticipating the end of the moratorium, so my funky little "old California" town might soon be luxury condo heaven.

Comment by Jan Carter on January 19, 2017 at 18:43

There is no doubt Syd, you live in a stunning area.  There are times I miss old California and where you live is likely as close to that as one can get these days.  I just dont think I could adjust back to city life, even with the views