Rensselaer Gazette, Volume 3, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 August 1859 — Sirocco in California. [ARTICLE]

Sirocco in California.

On the 17th of June, at Santa Barbara, California, a terrible phenomenon was experienced. The sun rose in the morning li e a ball of fire, but though very warm, no unusual inconvenience was experienced, till about two o’clock P. M., when a blast of heated air swept over the country, followed by others in quick succession, till the atmosphere became so intensely heated that no human being could withstand its force—all sought their dwellings, and had to shut doors and windows, and remain for hours confined to their houses. The effect of such intense and unparalleled heat was demonstrated by the death of the calves, rabbits, and birds; the trees were all blasted, and the fruit, such as pears and apples, Utterly roasted on the trees ere they fell to the ground, and the same as if they had been cast on live coals; but, strange to say, they were only burned on one side—that is the direction from whence came the wind. All kinds of metal became so heated, that tor hours nothing es the kind could be touched with the naked hands. The same phenomenon was presented in Los Angeles, and a large portion of the State has suffered from the blasting heat, which has nearly destroyed all the fruit trees and vineyards, and, in fact, most of the vegetation of every description throughout an extensive region. The California papers are speculating upon the cause of the singular and destructive visitation, but the general opinion appears to be that there has been a volcanic" eruption somewhere in the Southern part of the State.