Wildfire nearly destroys Santa Rosa’s rare island ecosystem

Just days after firefighters reached full containment of a blaze on Santa Rosa Island, officials say the damage is already visible across ash-covered grasses and chaparral—and the fire’s impact on rare Torrey pines and other protected species is still uncertai

SANTA ROSA ISLAND — The beach here looks unchanged at first glance: white sand, calm turquoise waves, a postcard horizon. But steps inland, the fire’s imprint is immediate. Fields of island grasses and chaparral have been reduced to ash. Hillsides are stained a rusty red from desperate retardant drops. When the wind whips, the air carries the smell of a potent campfire — even though there are no campers around.

Four days after firefighters reached 100% containment of an 18,379-acre blaze, the island still feels heavy and sealed off. The fire scorched about one-third of Santa Rosa Island and damaged many prized resources. including the island’s rare Torrey pines. It’s also part of the largest fire in Channel Islands National Park history.

The roughly 150 firefighters who responded have returned to the mainland. Santa Rosa Island remains closed to the public. with the only humans still working there: a team of about a dozen park rangers and Department of Interior scientists conducting damage review and helping determine the scale of what’s been lost. Their findings will guide what officials expect will likely be years-long mitigation and restoration efforts.

“There’s a lot of unknowns. ” Sasha Travaglio. a spokesperson for the Santa Rosa Island fire Burned Area Emergency Response team. said. The team includes a hydrologist, a soil scientist, an archaeologist, a paleontologist and a botanist. Travaglio pointed to the variables that can shape recovery on a remote island ecosystem that is “pretty diverse and complex. ” noting that wind. visitation. and the remoteness of the island all play a role.

Officials said early fieldwork has offered some signs of hope. Jack Oelfke, the leader of the on-site emergency response team, said much of the fire was a low burn severity. “That means habitat and the ecosystem should come back with time.”

Recovery, however, is not guaranteed — especially for the Torrey pine stand. Protected on Santa Rosa, the Torrey pine is among the rarest pine species in the world. The trees grow naturally only on Santa Rosa Island and in Torrey Pine State Park in San Diego. Decades of geographic separation have left the island pine genetically distinct. with the National Park Service describing the Santa Rosa trees as a distinct subspecies.

Oelfke said the fire burned some large trees but also left others untouched. “Scientists just don’t know how the trees will respond to or recover from the fire,” he said, adding that the island has so rarely dealt with flames. Unlike other pines, the island Torrey pines are not fire-adapted.

Ethan McKinley, superintendent of Channel Islands National Park, said officials are hoping for a quick recovery path. “It certainly has burned some large trees, but also, some were untouched,” Oelfke said. McKinley acknowledged that much of that recovery process — for the unique trees and otherwise — is “a big TBD.” He said the park has a robust “ecological baseline. ” including two decades of population monitoring. species documentation and vegetation inventories that can help guide next steps.

Beyond Torrey pines, Santa Rosa hosts five other plant species found nowhere else in the world. The park service says they include the Santa Rosa Island manzanita and soft-leaved paintbrush. The island is also home to a lizard species found only on three of the Channel Islands; a spotted skunk that lives on just two Channel Islands; a unique island fox subspecies; and several uncommon birds.

The island contains many culturally significant sites for the Chumash people as well.

Federal officials said they are still working to understand exactly how the fire might have affected species. the landscape. cultural sites. restoration projects and visitor resources. The Burned Area Emergency Response team is expected to complete its on-island work this week. before finalizing a report and making recommendations.

Even so, Travaglio pointed to early indicators for some animals. She said over half of the island didn’t burn, leaving habitat for island foxes to move into. “There might be some population decline because of the loss of habitat, but likely the fox will rebound,” she said.

For the western snowy plover. a threatened shorebird that has a year-round population on Santa Rosa. initial assessments did not identify dramatic declines. Travaglio said it looks like plover habitat was “minimally impacted. ” adding that the island’s eastern point has beaches closed during spring and summer to protect nesting areas.

As she spoke, her attention caught on fresh growth emerging in scorched ground. “There are a lot of areas that are resprouting with native plants, like this native grass,” Travaglio said, smiling. “Nature always prevails.”

That spirit doesn’t erase how close the fire came to becoming a catastrophe.

It began three days before containment was achieved. when a stranded mariner’s emergency flare — apparently sent from the south end of Channel Islands National Park’s second-largest island — apparently ignited the blaze. Winds of up to 50 mph stoked the flames and severely limited response efforts by hampering boat and aircraft access to the remote island.

Singer said the effort depended on specialized crews and small teams rather than engines. Kelly Singer, acting deputy fire chief of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service’s Coastal Mountain Unit. said. “Not much the firefighters can do when it was blowing that hard.” He said fire engines weren’t available on the island. and that responders relied on Hotshot crews and small. 10-person teams. “We had to rely on Hotshot crews and small. 10-person” teams. Singer said. while describing the push to create boundaries and hold fire lines as acreage ballooned.

McKinley later described the early days as grim. “It was grim days in the first few days of this fire,” he said. “That night, I didn’t sleep. … A full island burn would have been the worst case.”

Officials said there were slop-overs, pockets of fire that broke out of built fire lines. Crews fought to keep those fires from reaching critical park resources, including buildings and campgrounds. “They held the line. and we have them to thank for saving housing. saving the island. saving the history of the Santa Rosa Island. ” McKinley said.

Air support arrived the next phases of the fight. The following morning. air tankers were able to reach the island. dropping retardant and water under strict parameters meant to limit environmental damage. Then the next day, large “super-scooper” aircraft arrived and were able to drop seawater on remaining hot spots.

Singer said the turnaround depended on that aviation support. “Without the tanker support, we probably wouldn’t have been as successful as we were,” he said.

The fire was first spotted May 15 by a plane flying over the island. While the official cause remains under investigation. the Coast Guard and witnesses told The Times that the fire was inadvertently sparked by a man who crashed his sailboat into rocks on the island’s rugged south side and then fired emergency flares to signal for help.

The blaze destroyed two historic structures: Johnson’s Lee Equipment Shed and Wreck Line Camp Cabin. It also destroyed a storage building and a wind shelter at Water Canyon Campground.

For the firefighting strategy and the timeline of recovery, there was another consequence: the island itself went quiet, then went dark to the public. Santa Rosa Island remains closed through at least June 30.

The park has also alerted people with campsite reservations through Aug. 14 that those reservations may be canceled.

McKinley said officials will try to restore access as quickly as possible. “We’re going to try to restore access at some level as quickly as is reasonably possible,” he said. He emphasized the generational stakes: “These places only last for a generation or two if you don’t inspire that next generation to take care of them.” McKinley said inspiring the public is part of the park’s mission and “it’s as important as protecting these resources.”.

Tucked into that effort is a kind of painful irony. Travaglio described the landscape as North America’s so-called “Galapagos,” where the Pacific sparkles behind any burn scar. “Every fire is complex,” she said. “I’m in these beautiful places at their worst.”

For now, the burn scar is still new. The island remains closed. And even with containment at 100%, the work ahead is still measured not in days, but in what it takes for rare trees, endemic plants, threatened birds and cultural sites to withstand what wind and fire left behind.

Santa Rosa Island wildfire Channel Islands National Park Torrey pine Burned Area Emergency Response island foxes western snowy plover Chumash sites U.S. Wildland Fire Service restoration effort