SANTA ROSA ISLAND, Calif. (KEYT) – The National Park Service estimates that between 60 and 80 percent of Santa Rosa Island's Torrey pines are expected to die after the largest wildfire in Channel Islands National Park history.
What started out as a rescue of a stranded 67-year-old on Friday, May 15 from the remote island quickly grew to an 18,379-acre wildfire that was not fully contained until June 4.
U.S. Coast Guard personnel rescue a stranded man from Santa Rosa Island on May 15, 2026. Image courtesy of Captain Jace Malone.According to the Channel Islands National Park, the fire broke out earlier the same day and fire crews were dispatched to the oceanside of Santa Rosa Island near Ford Point on the southeastern portion of the island.
Flames eventually burned almost 40 percent of the island before fully being extinguished, the largest fire in the history of the Channel Islands National Park, shared the National Park Service this week.
Local sport fishing Captain Jace Malone spotted a fire on Santa Rosa Island on the morning of May 15 while he and the New Hustler were heading out with a fishing group about two miles west of Ford Point.The federally protected island is home to multiple indigenous plant species including the iconic Torrey Pine.
According to the latest count in 2014, there were more than 24,000 Torrey pines of all ages across Santa Rosa Island including about 3000 cone-producing trees.
On the day that the fire was fully contained in early June, an inter-agency Burned Area Emergency Response team of specialists briefed park staff on the situation and response plan.
While the island's populations of grasses and shrubs are expected to recover from the fire naturally, Santa Rosa Island's Torrey pine grove -one of only two natural grow locations for the tree on Earth and the only place to find the island's subspecies- will need a little help from human hands.
According to the National Park Service, officials have initiated urgent measures to stabilize the Torrey pine's population before the rainy season in the fall.
Heavy fall rains meeting where flames cleared the land could lead to devastating erosion that would wash away the fragile layer of topsoil that Torrey pines depend on explained the National Park Service.
"The potential loss of so many mature Torrey pines is heartbreaking," shared Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Ethan McKinley. "But we must resolve ourselves to focus on what we can save, and the next few months are critical. The fire may be over, but we're now in a race against time. Protecting these slopes before winter storms arrive gives us the best opportunity to restore this extraordinary landscape for future generations."
Crews and volunteers have begun to stabilize charred hillsides by already installing about 250 wattles, long tubes of natural fibers that slow rainwater and keep soil from being washed away, that are expected to hold the soil in place while native vegetation makes a recovery naturally shared the National Park Service.
Wattles being installed at Santa Rosa Island. Image courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior/A. Cholo.Maintaining top soil by limiting erosion is only one of tools being employed to save the Torrey pines of Santa Rosa Island.
Staffers and cooperating groups have successfully collected more than 14,000 Torrey pine seeds released from cones after the fire swept through the area shared the National Parks Service.
National Park Service biologist David Mazurkiewicz searches for viable Torrey pine seeds in a pinecone. Image courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior/A. Cholo.According to the federal agency, the collected seeds will be sent to an island nursery and grown into seedlings that will then be planted at key sites within the now-burned grove while other seeds will be placed into a seed bank.
Torrey pine seeds collected during restoration efforts at Santa Rosa Island. Image courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior/A. Cholo.Channel Islands National Park is now hard at work on its plan to potentially plant around 300 to 500 seedlings each year across a 15-acre restoration area stated the National Parks Service.
The plan also includes cleaning culverts to protect the road system, stabilizing vulnerable archeological sites, repairing damaged trails, and monitoring for invasive plant species added the federal agency.
For more information about restoration efforts on Santa Rosa Island, visit here.
Santa Rosa Island Fire Expected to Result in Substantial Torrey Pine Mortality; Efforts Underway to Protect Vulnerable Population News Channel 3-12.
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