Before Climate Change Became A Scapegoat, Mega Floods And Fires Devastated California
Historic droughts, scorching heat, and other 'extreme weather' illustrate California’s long battle with nature’s fury.
by William L. Anderson August 13, 2025, 3:02 PM
When Gov. Leland Stanford was inaugurated on Jan. 10, 1862, he didn’t walk to the state Capitol, nor did he take a carriage. Instead, he got into a small boat and rowed from the governor’s mansion to the Capitol steps. The Great Flood of 1862 is something that anyone interested in California history should know. [emphasis, links added]
Like what was described in the Genesis Flood, Californians experienced 40 days and nights of rainfall, while record snows fell in the Sierra Nevada and Cascades.
While this flood did not cover the whole Earth, it did cover a huge portion of California’s Central Valley, creating havoc where it went and sending the state Legislature to San Francisco to carry out its duties.
The damage was extensive. Flooding killed about 4,000 people, wiped out a quarter of the state’s cattle, bankrupted the state government, destroyed one-third of the state’s property, and even drove the price of a dozen eggs to $3, equivalent to about $80 today.
https://climatechangedispatch.com/california-mega-floods-fires-extreme-weather/