Fire in ‘Galapagos of North America’ off California coast risks species found nowhere else

An unrelenting wildfire has swallowed nearly a third of Santa Rosa Island, a small strip of land off the Santa Barbara coast that is largely uninhabited by people but abundant with wildlife and plants, including several found nowhere else on Earth. 

The blaze, which started last Friday, is human-caused but its exact origin is still under investigation, according to the National Park Service, which manages the island as part of the Channel Islands National Park. However, news outlets report the original ignition was likely due to a flare set off by a stranded sailor, who spelled out an “SOS” on the ground amid the burnt vegetation. The sailor was saved, but the inferno had torn through nearly 17,000 acres as of Tuesday evening — the biggest fire in California so far this year.

Officials ferried in dozens of firefighters to combat the flames, but strong winds and the island’s remote and rugged landscape have made it difficult. As of Tuesday evening, the fire was 26% contained and had passed directly through the island’s stronghold of Torrey pine trees, which grow naturally only there and in northern San Diego. 

Additional firefighters arrived on the island Tuesday, but some resources won’t get there until midweek, according to a federal fire report. 

As the Santa Rosa Island fire continues to burn, scientists, conservation groups and the former superintendent of the park fear the long-term impacts it could have on the ecosystem and the sensitive species it supports. 

Home to unique species, cultural sites up in flames

Santa Rosa is one of the five islands that make up Channel Islands National Park, described as the “Galapagos of North America” due to the trove of native species that exist only there. This includes the island fox, island spotted skunk and plants such as the bright red island monkeyflower or the Dudleya gnoma succulent (adorably nicknamed the “munchkin liveforever”). 

The archipelago is also an archaeological hub, with culturally important sites for the Chumash people who once lived there and fossils from long-extinct animals such as pygmy mammoths and ancient sea cows scattered throughout. Some of North America’s oldest human remains were also discovered on the island, dating back 13,000 years. 

“The islands are refugia for species that used to exist elsewhere and got sort of sequestered off onto these tiny little time capsules, essentially, or they evolved on the island, and that is what makes them so biodiverse and different from the species that we’d be seeing mainland,” Lauren Harris, an ecologist for the nonprofit Channel Islands Restoration, told Inside Climate News. However, the islands’ uniqueness is also part of what makes them particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors, she added. 

“Having that combination of dry grasses, the summer heat and a little ignition from a flare, potentially, makes it very risky for all of these species that are supposed to be in this like refugia of an island, and all of that is exacerbated by climate change as well,” she said. 

On Monday afternoon, an information officer responding on behalf of the National Park Service told Inside Climate News that fire crews were trying “to steer or direct the fire away from park assets like the Torrey pines.” But the federal fire report confirmed that these efforts were unsuccessful as the flames overtook the Torrey pines area. Crews reported “the fire intensity was low and that the stand remains intact,” and they will be performing a visual inspection of the area. 

Torrey pine trees are somewhat fire-adapted, dispersing seeds immediately after a blaze, but intense blazes can be harmful. Fire — which is uncommon on the Channel Islands — also poses existential threats to other wildlife and plants endemic to Santa Rosa, including the little munchkin liveforevers, according to Harris. 

“It’s very possible that a disturbance event like a large wildfire could really impact the longevity of these populations and species as a whole,” she said. 

Even the firefighting efforts themselves could be disruptive if crews start using certain, sometimes destructive firefighting equipment such as bulldozers, according to Russell Galipeau, who was the superintendent of the Channel Islands National Park for 15 years. 

“The fragility of the islands, their sensitivity, is really important,” he said. “Last thing we need are bulldozer lines all over the place.” 

The fire information officer responding on behalf of the National Park Service told Inside Climate News that the firefighters consider “Minimum Impact Suppression Tactics (MIST) to preserve the natural and cultural characteristics of this landscape,” such as using an existing trail or natural feature to support containment. 

“As part of the incident management team, Resource Advisors are assisting firefighters by providing guidance on how to protect these sensitive assets during operations when possible,” the fire information officer added. 

Restoration setback

The Santa Rosa fire hits in the midst of a long-term recovery effort across the Channel Islands. In the 1800s, European settlers introduced widespread sheep and cattle ranching to the region, along with pigs, elk and deer for recreational hunting. By the time the National Park Service started managing the parts of the archipelago in the mid-20th century, the herbivores had nearly wiped out native shrubs and trees as invasive annual grasslands dominated the landscape.

Decades of livestock removal, invasive species eradication and native plant recovery have helped restore many of the ecosystems, and long-term restoration efforts continue for the island’s unique cloud forests. But the fire could undo some of that work on Santa Rosa Island, Harris said. 

“Managing invasive species after wildfire can be kind of complicated — it creates this open space … where invasives can kind of come in and crowd out our natives before they can get a hold,” she said. “That’s a big risk that I think people will be watching out for.” 

Animals could also be at risk. Years of recovery efforts pulled island foxes from the brink of extinction, with populations rising from just 15 individuals on San Miguel and Santa Rosa islands to thousands, reports show. But Galipeau said the fire could hurt these animals if they can’t outrun it or if it destroys their habitat and food sources. 

Authorities are deploying additional firefighters, off-road utility vehicles, fire hoses and pumps on the island, with specialized fire engines set to get there in the middle of the week, and will watch for better wind conditions to try aerial water drops. While Galipeau recognized the difficulty of fighting fire in the remote region, he questioned the timing of the efforts. 

“Why didn’t you start thinking about mobilizing those resources earlier?” he said. 

The fire information officer told Inside Climate News that “there were challenges with getting additional crews and equipment to the island on Saturday and Sunday because of the gale warning and conditions of the seas.” 

Galipeau also worries that park officials won’t be able to sufficiently monitor impacts and launch recovery efforts, given agency-wide reductions last year and deep cuts the Trump administration is proposing for the National Park Service. 

Authorities successfully evacuated 11 National Park Service employees from Santa Rosa over the weekend, and the area is closed to the public for now. 

It’s tough to say when the fire will stop growing: Dry winds, low humidity and warm days continue to fan the flames. 

“While there is no exact timeline, the goal is to contain the fire as soon as possible using a variety of full suppression strategies and tactics,” the fire information officer told Inside Climate News. “While long-term recovery is kept in mind during active firefighting efforts and guides decision making, recovery planning does not typically begin until containment increases significantly and forward progress has slowed.”

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