California island fire linked to sailor’s distress flare scorches 10,000 acres | California
A wildfire that broke out on an island in the Channel Islands national park became California’s nightmare largest forest fire ever More than 10,000 acres have burned this year, destroying historic structures and endangering rare plant communities that conservationists are trying to restore.
About six dozen firefighters They were deployed to control the fire on Friday but their efforts were undermined by strong winds. The fire is currently 0 percent under control Cal Fire incident report.
It is understood that the fire on Santa Rosa Island broke out after a sailor crashed his boat into the rocks on the island’s coast, leaving him stranded. The 67-year-old man fired at least two flares to make passing boats notice him.
That initiative appears to be working, according to Kenneth Wiese, spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard’s southwest region. Wiese said people on two separate vessels contacted the National Park Service to say they suspected someone was stranded in Santa Rosa, part of the Channel Islands national park off the coast of Southern California.
The Coast Guard sent a helicopter, already in flight, to rescue the man who spent the night on the island. According to images shared by the Coast Guard on Instagram, the man had carved the letters “SOS” into the charred ground. Authorities took him to a hospital in nearby Camarillo. He didn’t seem injured.
“We know he threw some flares to attract attention,” Wiese said. “That worked for him. We were able to get him out of there.”
But the flares may have started a wildfire along the south coast of the 53,000-acre island. Wiese said he could not confirm the cause of the fire, but the National Park Service (NPS) was conducting an investigation. NPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
NPS issued an announcement Sunday saying Santa Rosa Island was closed to visitors as firefighters worked to control the blaze. The agency evacuated its personnel on Sunday. According to Mercury News.
The fire reportedly destroyed two structures: Johnson’s Lee Equipment Shed and Wreck Line Camping Cabin.
The Channel Islands have a high level of biodiversity, leading some to describe them as the “Galapagos of California.” But Santa Rosa’s ecology has been endangered for over a century by uncontrolled grazing of livestock and non-native ungulates released to hunt there. Both livestock and non-native wildlife were eliminated more than a decade ago, allowing native plants to regenerate.
Six native plants grow only on Santa Rosa Island. By San Francisco Gate. NPS also hopes firefighters can protect a rare area of Torrey pines from fire.
