More Information

Please be aware of the following:

In order to pass the checkpoints on Highway 1 before Sunday, July 13 at 8 am, you will either a Big Sur resident drivers license or proof of employment with Esalen (such as a paystub or an official letter of employment). We are coordinating with local officials to expedite this process by providing them with a list of Esalen staff, extended students, and practitioners. Please contact Jerilyn Hesse or Pat Wyatt for details.
As there is an onoing risk of rockfall onto the road, and emergency and service personnel are still working in the area, please drive slowly and very carefully. The posted speed limit through Big Sur has been reduced to 30 mph.
As there is still smoke in the air, please consider any sensitivity or respiratory difficulty you may have as you make plans to return. Please read our new information below about air quality.
The initial work of returning staff will be to restore our facilities to clean and working order, regardless of your normal department assignments. In particular, South Coast will be undergoing a significant cleanup effort as we work both to clean the exterior coating of fire retardant gel and to clean rooms.
For staff and extended students who were expecting to change rooms on Sunday June 29, please contact Pat Wyatt for information about your new room assignments. We will do our best to honor the housing placement as it stood at the beginning of the workscholar month, but there may need to be adjustments since not all rooms will be available right away. Pat will advise as soon as details are known.

Air Quality

We are providing the following air quality information for any community members who have concerns due to pre-existing heart or respiratory problems. Please continue to take good care of yourselves and make the best decisions about when to return.

The Monterey Bay Unified Air Quality Control District provides averaged hourly readings of the smoke particulate for Carmel Valley and Monterey. Those readings are likely to show higher concentrations of smoke than we currently have at Esalen due to our proximity to the ocean and our favorable winds and marine layer. We have asked for local Big Sur monitoring as well and are waiting for equipment to be installed at the Big Sur Station.

Smoke and potential health effects are relational to the concentration of particulate matter. Good air quality has a concentration of 0-40 and poses no cautionary concerns; Moderate air quality is between 41-80 and could possibly aggravate pre-existing heart or respiratory disease; Unhealthy air quality for sensitive groups is between 81-175 and has increasing likelihood of respiratory symptoms and aggravation of lung disease such as asthma.

Current Air Quality Readings:

Carmel Valley: during the period from 8am July 9th through 8am today (July 10th) there were 13 readings below 40; 10 readings between 41-80; and 2 readings between 81-175 (those were early in the morning on July 9th).
Monterey: during the period from 8am July 9th through 8am today (July 10th) there were 25 readings below 40.

Esalen Staff Resources

Open Letter from Harry

You can still read the Open Letter from Harry to All Staff regarding compensation options for July 6-15.

Questions

If you are not able to get in touch with your department manager, or have additional questions, please contact either Pat Wyatt (Human Resources) or Jeremy Taylor (Information Services) for assistance.

Online Resources