The cleanp

The rescue efforts in La Conchita were stopped today because of the elapsed time and instability in the mud. Will they rebuild? If not, what happens to the rest of the small town? Many questions remain and will echo through the rest of the year and beyond.

Somehow, Highway 101 between Ventura and Santa Barbara is due to open by noon tomorrow. I guess that's a rush job because of all the people who need it on a daily basis (and it's certain that the well heeled folks who need it on the weekend made some calls too).

The huge boulder on Topanga Canyon Road is now a pile of rubble and being removed although I haven't heard when they plan on reopening Topanga Canyon to traffic. And I'm just guessing, but it seems pretty likely that Pollywog Park (shown in the second photo) is drained by now.

KCLU is finally back on the air today although there's a bit of static I don't recall from last week. I'm not sure if the transformer has been replaced but today's update mentions some additional damaged equipment from the lightning strike. From the statement on Saturday:

National Public radio station KCLU in Thousand Oaks remained off the air. It was knocked off Friday morning during a heavy lightning storm. The station's transmitter is at the end of a muddied trail atop a mountain between Camarillo and Thousand Oaks, said general manager Mary Olson. Station technician Mike Tosch and his daughter rode horses to the transmitter Saturday only to find the problem was a blown transformer that Southern California Edison needs to replace.

and this from the KCLU website today:

KCLU is currently operating at reduced power while repairs are completed following last week's lightning storm. We expect KCLU to resume normal operation soon. Thank you for your patience.

For the most part, it's back to business as usual until the next major storm, earthquake, fire or whatever comes along. C'est la Vie!