Santa Rosa Island, part of Channel Islands National Park, will stay closed through at least June 30 after a May 15 wildfire burned nearly 29 square miles, destroyed at least two historic structures, and became the largest blaze in the park’s recorded history.
A few weeks ago, flames raced through grass and chewed through brush on Santa Rosa Island—an island about 40 miles off the coast of Ventura, California. Now, the recovery begins in the dark work of measurement and uncertainty, and the park is preparing for a long stretch of closure.
Santa Rosa Island will remain closed to visitors through at least June 30 after a fire burned nearly 29 square miles. Park officials say the blaze. which started May 15 and is now fully contained. became the largest fire in Channel Islands National Park’s recorded history. With nearly 40% of the island burned. officials told the Ventura County Star. part of the USA TODAY Network. that many outcomes still depend on what specialists find.
The stakes are not abstract on a park sometimes called the “Galapagos of North America.” Santa Rosa is home to rare plants and animals. including a cinnamon-colored fox and a stand of Torrey Pines found in just two spots worldwide. On Santa Rosa, park officials said the fire burned through the trees. Some canopy remains, but the future of that grove is still uncertain.
“I still don’t know if we’re grieving those, or if it’s a high percentage of those that are going to survive,” said Ethan McKinley, superintendent of the five-island park.
Wildlife and plant futures remain in question. McKinley said some wildlife perished in the blaze. Others, such as island foxes, likely could outrun the pace of the flames. Still, officials said the scale of the fire could affect animals now left with significantly less habitat.
A couple of plant species only found on Santa Rosa—and other species listed as endangered or threatened—also grew inside the burn area, McKinley said.
Specialists arrive, recovery plan begins
To move from fear to facts, a Burned Area Emergency Response team—bringing specialists from biologists to paleontologists—arrived in early June. Their work has started with a search through the fire footprint. Officials said the effort is expected to help assess damage and form a recovery plan.
McKinley said park monitoring data from decades of observation will help guide decisions, but he expects restoration will be slow and labor-intensive.
He described the recovery as “a very intensive, multi-year, painstaking effort.”
When the fire started, the early problem wasn’t just the flames. Gale force winds initially prevented enough resources from reaching the remote island, officials said. Within a day. the blaze that started on a Friday had burned nearly 1. 000 acres and then barreled through thousands more day after day.
Even when aircraft could fly, officials said water drops essentially went sideways, making them ineffective. “It was grim days in the first few days,” McKinley said. “We were at a point where we really didn’t know if we were going to come out victorious.”
By the first Monday night, officials said they knew they needed air tankers to slow the fire’s spread, but they did not know if they would arrive in time. McKinley said he worried the fire would reach key parts of the island—“the campground burned over, housing burned over, the main ranch gone.”
McKinley called the fire “unprecedented” on the island. He said multiple runs that night were chased down by firefighters and that their efforts helped save the island. Aircraft did get to the spot on Tuesday.
Close-up view after the burn
By June 8, a small group walked along a narrow strip of road in the remote Channel Islands National Park, ocean views on one side and fire-blackened hills on the other. Nearby, yellow poppies and bright pink buckwheat lined a dirt road.
Flames burned within a mile or so of the main ranch and pier, officials said, ripping through Water Canyon but leaving the campground there relatively unscathed.
The emergency response team is also examining the fire’s severity, work intended to identify potential debris flows. So far, the burn severity appeared relatively low overall based on satellite images, but the team leader, Jack Oelfke, said pockets burned hot.
Oelfke said the team will also analyze what conditions could mean downstream—covering hazards from trails to structures.
On Santa Rosa Island, the list of vulnerable resources included protected black abalone beds, and Oelfke said it was a first for him leading similar teams.
Why the closure is staying in place
Officials said Santa Rosa is expected to remain closed to the public through at least June 30. They listed public safety concerns ranging from eroding hillsides to hazardous trees.
“We’re going to try to restore access at some level as quickly as is reasonably possible,” McKinley said.
The fire’s cause is under investigation. Park officials said it appeared to have started after a sailboat crashed onto the rocks on the island, and a mariner was stranded overnight.
What begins now—finding out whether Torrey Pines can regrow. how much habitat remains for animals. and where hazards may threaten people—will shape the shape of the island’s recovery for years. On Santa Rosa, the question is no longer only how the fire spread. It is what survived, and what has been permanently altered.
Santa Rosa Island wildfire Channel Islands National Park Ethan McKinley Torrey Pines island foxes Burned Area Emergency Response team Jack Oelfke black abalone beds California fire recovery park closure