Supercharger - Crescent City, CA (6 V2 stalls)

[JimVandegriff]

I did get to Crescent City both last week and today, and cruised by the site for the supercharger, and there is no activity to report. I did have an interesting experience when I went by last week though. It was last Wednesday, April 6th, the day that the governors of California and Oregon, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Congresspeople, and tribal representatives were meeting in Klamath (south of Crescent City) to announce the signing of a deal to remove 4 dams along the Klamath River. I was walking around the proposed supercharger site which is across the street from the Redwood National and State Parks office and visitor center. I noticed a few people in park ranger uniforms in front of the building and went over to check on whether it had a restroom. I got into conversations with some of the giftshop workers about Tesla and the upcoming supercharger (they wanted me to come back with my soon to be delivered X and give them a ride.)
While I was leaving I noticed three SUV's pull up, and people in suits and shiny black shoes step out of them. If you have ever been to Crescent City you would know this is unusual. A more casually dressed woman stepped out of one of the SUV's and began shaking hands with the park rangers. She looked familiar. It then dawned on me that it was none other than Sally Jewell, the Secretary of the Interior. She came over to me, shook my hand, asked me who I was, and I got to tell her how much I appreciated the deal to remove the Klamath dams (important for salmon restoration, and the culture of the Yurok, Hoopa, Tolowa, and Karuk peoples). She was quite approachable, and I felt glad to be able to encourage this environmental restoration. I'm sure hoping the info I received from Tesla about this site opening by the end of the summer is true.

 

[ZBB]

I really hope this site opens by mid July... We're planning our summer road trip and really want to take the coastal route up through Oregon... Might still be doable with an overnight in Eureka, but Superchargers will make it easier.

 

[Pricee2]

Thirteen months and counting.

 

[ZachsDad]

The Crescent City and Eureka SC's will open up the 101 S for me, much better than heading over to I-5 to go see the kids in Santa Barbara. Just a note for those wishing to travel up the Oregon Coast. The West Coast Electric Highway project has ChaDeMo chargers every 50 miles or so which really reduces the pucker factor when traveling this route.

 

[otter]

The Crescent City and Eureka SC's will open up the 101 S for me, much better than heading over to I-5 to go see the kids in Santa Barbara. Just a note for those wishing to travel up the Oregon Coast. The West Coast Electric Highway project has ChaDeMo chargers every 50 miles or so which really reduces the pucker factor when traveling this route.

Ditto that for us. Great to have a snow-free route south in the winter, too. NOTE: RE the West Coast Electric CHAdeMOs- if you have any trouble charging, a call to the Aerovironment service number (posted on the charger) will almost always resolve the issue, usually via a remote reboot of the unit. There is only one CHAdeMO per site, but there is seldom a wait so far- except for the ones in casino parking lots.

 

[pdxrajiv]

What is the best place to charge in Crescent CIty until the SC becomes operational?
Plugshare shows three RV parks with NEMA 14-50 service.
I will be in Crescent City next week and will need a charge to roam the Park and get to Eureka.

Eureka does show some destination chargers, Any recommendations?

 

[JimVandegriff]

I personally haven't tried the Carter House in Eureka (hotel and restaurant) destination charger but read a review recently that stated that the staff allowed a non-patron to use it. Good restaurant and bar there.

 

[Phition]

I just contacted tesla regarding the eureka/crescent city sites. Their reply was pretty evasive, but they did say they were just about to start construction on both sites and that the sites should be active 4 to 6 weeks after they break ground

 

[JimVandegriff]

I just contacted tesla regarding the eureka/crescent city sites. Their reply was pretty evasive, but they did say they were just about to start construction on both sites and that the sites should be active 4 to 6 weeks after they break ground

Thanks for making the contact, Phition. I drove by the Eureka site today to see if there was any movement on it, but there was nothing new on the ground. Soon!

 

[ecarfan]

I just contacted tesla regarding the eureka/crescent city sites. Their reply was pretty evasive, but they did say they were just about to start construction on both sites and that the sites should be active 4 to 6 weeks after they break ground

Thanks for the update! Sounds like Tesla was reasonably clear on their plans for those SC locations. Why do you say they were "evasive"?

 

[Phition]

They gave no specific date and gave me a vague nonspecific explanation that some sites take longer than others and there are many variables...... I guess I call that evasive

 

[DDotJ]

They gave no specific date and gave me a vague nonspecific explanation that some sites take longer than others and there are many variables...... I guess I call that evasive

In Tesla's defense, I don't think Tesla even knows when Supercharger stations open, especially firm opening dates. It depends on so many external variables such as property management, construction crews, and of course the utility companies (which can sometimes be a very lengthy holdup).

 

[TaoJones]

So it's the end of June and no crews in site. This is a shame as these 2 SCs would save a loooong 2-lane detour when heading south from the Oregon Coast/border (courtesy of Aerovironment's full-strength, fully-functional ChaDeMo network) to SoCal.

Santa Barbara's SC is unimportant for distance travel - let them foot drag the permit process as long as they and their 2-lane/direction bottlenecking 101 through town would like. These 2 SCs *are* important. Not as important as fixing the failures to open up I-10 from Tucson to San Antonio (promised since 2014), but important nonetheless.

In this part of the country, it appears that Tesla is not in the lead insofar as fast charging is concerned.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

SC in Eureka is well into construction and will be turned on by end of July if all goes well w/ PG& E
The crew will go to CC after and it should be completed by the end of September, weather and PG& E permitting

Supercharger - Eureka (location confirmed, permitted)

 

[TaoJones]

SC in Eureka is well into construction and will be turned on by end of July if all goes well w/ PG& E
The crew will go to CC after and it should be completed by the end of September, weather and PG& E permitting

Woo hoooooooo!

 

[ProphetM]

Yay! I will be in Crescent City at the end of July so I may see the start of construction, or if it happens before then my mother-in-law should let me know.

 

[cpa]

SC in Eureka is well into construction and will be turned on by end of July if all goes well w/ PG& E
The crew will go to CC after and it should be completed by the end of September, weather and PG& E permitting

Supercharger - Eureka (location confirmed, permitted)

This is good news for you north coasters!

My question concerns PG&E. Decades ago I worked as a controller for a company that had locations scattered throughout California. A few of our locations were in Siskiyou and Modoc Counties (none in Del Norte.) The electric utility for Siskiyou and Modoc was out of Oregon (Pacific Power and Light if memory serves.)

Do you know fer shure that PG&E serves Del Norte County?

(Just asking as a matter of curiosity, is all!

 

[ProphetM]

Pacific Power was the provider in Crescent City when I lived there 20+ years ago and it appears that they still are. So for an indication of how well/quickly they handle a supercharger installation we would want to look at Mt. Shasta, CA, and Oregon locations Grants Pass, Bend, Pendleton, and the installation currently in progress in Seaside. Pacific Power's coverage map is pretty vague so one or more of those may be slightly outside their service area rather than inside.

 

[miimura]

Energy Maps of California - California Energy Commission

 

[5YJSA]

I have driven the coast a few times, years ago, in an ICE obviously.

I can't recall the elevation along the road from Crescent City, CA to Lincoln City, OR, though.

The distance between those two stops puts it within driving range for my soon to be delivered Model S 75D on a full charge with moderate temperatures. i.e. it's 256 miles and Tesla claims at a leisurely 50 mph I should be able to get 367 miles out of the car. That's just enough of a buffer to make me not worry much.

But I'm wondering if elevation changes might eat up more than those 100 extra miles. Can't recall if it's all uphill one way, or if it's rolling.

Any thoughts?

Obviously the better solution is another supercharger near Coos Bay, or stopping for a little CHAdeMO or 14-50 charge somewhere half way. But I almost think I could do this route from SC to SC once both the Crescent City and Lincoln City superchargers are live.

(Not that I'm going to do it soon. I live in Toronto now. But I'll definitely be road tripping out there in the next year or so.)