A Big Sur Podcast
A Big Sur Podcast
An ongoing conversation with people from near and far about Big Sur's past, present, and future. A Big Sur Podcast interprets “community” to mean ALL people from around the world who are curious about, and who care about, the preservation and restoration of the wild and rural character of Big Sur. Stories are told by visitors and residents, plumbers and linesmen, musicians and authors, dancers and jugglers and others. Sometimes we drift (way) off-topic into the arts, sciences, personal stories, gossip, politics, philosophy, ornithology, Henry Miller, and our zeitgeist in general. We like that!
The opinions expressed here belong to the people who express them. They may or may not line up with yours, mine, or your neighbor’s — and that’s exactly the point. Different perspectives, lived experiences, and even wildly clashing views are what make conversations worth listening to: enriching, infuriating, life-affirming, and sometimes all three at once.
If you are planning a visit to Big Sur and you listen to some of the folks on this Podcast talk about their love of the place your visit will probably be a lot more rewarding. Please email magnus@henrymiller.org with any comments, critique & suggestions.
Music intro clip courtesy John Holm: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZF1DZ06evO0Rh2QU
Sound editing software by Hindenburg: https://hindenburg.com/
Please support the podcast by making a donation to the Henry Miller Library, a 501(c)3 nonprofit arts organization. Thank you!
A Big Sur Podcast
# 137 Living With Fire: Big Sur — Jimmy Panetta on Family, Fire & the Work of Public Service
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What does a member of Congress actually do when a wildfire breaks out in Big Sur?
Before getting to that question, this conversation goes somewhere more personal.
Congressman Jimmy Panetta talks about his family’s roots on the Central Coast, beginning with his grandfather Carmelo Panetta, who came to the United States from Calabria in 1921, eventually settling in Monterey and Carmel Valley. Jimmy grew up in the Carmel Valley house his grandfather built — the same house where his father, Leon Panetta, had grown up before him.
Big Sur was part of the family landscape: childhood drives down Highway 1, days at Pfeiffer Beach, birthdays at Rocky Point and an understanding that going down the coast was something special, never something to be taken for granted.
We talk about Jimmy’s return to Calabria and the family’s Italian roots, but also about another inheritance: public service.
Leon Panetta served in Congress beginning in 1977, while Jimmy’s mother, Sylvia, ran his district operation and constituent services. Jimmy describes what he absorbed from both parents — particularly the idea that elected office is not fundamentally about possessing power. It is about answering the phone, showing up, doing the work and helping people navigate institutions that otherwise can feel impossibly distant.
That leads us back to Big Sur.
When the Timber Fire began, Panetta quickly joined a communication chain with Monterey County Supervisor Kate Daniels, State Senator John Laird and Assemblymember Dawn Addis. He visited Big Sur, met with first responders and remained involved as the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, Big Sur Fire and, during the Plaskett Fire, Fort Hunter Liggett coordinated their response.
Panetta argues that Big Sur presents government with an unusual challenge. Residents here often possess decades — sometimes generations — of knowledge about ridges, roads, water systems, fire behavior and the practical realities of living in isolated terrain. They need to be an integral part of the conversation.
We discuss the need for an after-action examination of the Timber and Plaskett fires; better communication among federal, state, county and local responders from the very beginning of an incident; a proposed NOAA weather-radio transmitter serving Big Sur; and the continuing importance of the Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council as a place where agencies, elected officials and the community can meet before the next emergency rather than during it.
And there will be a next one.
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GOOD LINKS
- Congressman Jimmy Panetta — official website and biography
- Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council — Monterey County
- Big Sur Fire — Timber and Plaskett information and local emergency resources
- Watch Duty
- NOAA Weather Radio — Monterey Bay Area
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This podcast is a production of the Henry Miller Memorial Library with support from The Arts Council for Monterey County!
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