Category Archives: District 8

Earthquake UPDATES – Mw 7.1 near Ridgecrest

Well, that was strong! I felt it here in San Diego. First time I felt my building sway and it shook for a while. USGS is now reporting the quake as a Mw 7.1, which is 11 times larger than the one yesterday. This, assuming a larger one doesn’t happen, has also been deemed the “main shock” and the 6.4 was the “fore shock”. USGS and Caltech are a bit slow right now. If you felt this one, please let USGS know once their servers are not slow or not working. They need your help!

From Caltrans and CHP, damage reports are coming in of rockfalls on 178 in Poison Canyon, a sinkhole on 178 near the Trona Pinnacles turnoff, and buckling up to 4 feet as well as large cracks in other areas. Do not drive fast through any of the earthquake affected areas. Also be aware that rockfalls will be likely in all the local mountain ranges, so be careful. State 127 near Ibex Pass is covered with rocks, and that is a fair distance away from the epicenter.

http://scedc.caltech.edu/recent/
Working map of all earthquakes in California and Nevada by Caltech. Links to USGS as well on the page.

USGS site now working!
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci38457511/executive

Featured Image – 3/30/2019

Old US 60 / 70 in Chuckwalla Valley between Desert Center and Blythe.

August 12, 2017 Cajon Pass Highway Tour – Updated

South end of Blue Cut showing fire damage.

On August 12, 2017, I will be hosting this websites first highway tour in the Cajon Pass area. This tour will cover the roadway from Verdemont to Cajon Summit. Some portions will have to be skipped, unfortunately, due to fire-related closures. The start of the tour has changed from the initial announcement. It will now begin at Devore, in front of Tony’s Diner at 18291 Cajon Blvd, San Bernardino, CA 92407 at 8 am. Please do not park in their parking lot. There is plenty of on-street and off-street parking in the area.

[wpgmza id=”1″]

After a brief introduction, we plan to leave at about 8:30 am. The tour will stop at the following locations:

  • Verdemont (backtrack)
  • Cajon Blvd (at the freeway)
  • Kenwood Ave
  • Keenbrook
  • Blue Cut
  • Debris Cone Creek
  • Cajon Junction
  • Cajon Summit

Additional stops may be added if needed. I strongly recommend bringing water and snacks as there are few water/food stops along the route. Please RSVP if you plan to attend this tour. Again, we will be leaving the starting point no later than 8:30 am. Please RSVP no later than August 11 so that I can get a rough number of how many will attend. I look forward to seeing you out there!

Poll results and the first tour

Just north of Kenwood Road looking toward Keenbrook. Burn area is evident near the trees in the distance as well as in the mountains.

After taking a small poll on this site regarding possible highway tours, the results are in. It would seem that the Cajon Pass area was the most popular. As such, it will be the first tour given. Unless conditions warrant otherwise, the first tour will be on August 12, 2017. It will begin at the San Bernardino Metrolink station at 10 am. While a more exact itinerary will be created in the near future, the tour will cover the highway as well as the geology from the train station to Cajon Summit. The tour will be in a caravan style with specific stopping points. There may be some short hikes as well to see old pavement, alignments, or bridges. There will also be no cost for the tour. Please RSVP as soon as you can so I can get an idea of how many may show. It should be a lot of fun and I hope to see you out there!

Image of the Week – 2/3/2017

Old alignment of State 79 (right) and the current alignment (left), between Temecula and Winchester in Riverside County.