Nathan Masters: The Devil Wind: A Brief History of the Santa Anas https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/a-brief-history-of-the-santa-ana-winds: "Scholars who have looked into the name's origins generally agree that it derives from Santa Ana Canyon, the portal where the Santa Ana River—as well as a congested Riverside (CA-91) Freeway—leaves Riverside County and enters Orange County. When the Santa Anas blow, winds can reach exceptional speeds in this narrow gap between the Puente Hills and Santa Ana Mountains. The earliest-known written reference to the 'Santa Ana' winds appeared in the Nov. 15, 1880, edition of the _Los Angeles Evening Express. Winds were ferocious in Santa Ana Canyon on the night of January 6, 1847, when U.S. forces under Commodore Robert Stockton camped near the canyon during their conquest of Los Angeles. Stockton's diary describes their ordeal: 'Taking advantage of a deep ditch for one face of the camp, it was laid off in a very defensible position between the town and the river, expecting the men would have an undisturbed night's rest...In this hope we were mistaken. The wind blew a hurricane (something unusual in this part of California), and the atmosphere was filled with particles of fine dust, so that one could not see and but with difficulty breathe.' If the windstorm Stockton and his troops endured was the source of the name, little evidence exists in the historical record...
#noted #2019-10-08