A wildfire that broke out on an island in the Channel Islands national park has become California’s largest wildfire so far this year, burning through more than 10,000 acres, destroying historic structures and endangering rare plant communities that conservationists had struggled to reclaim. About six dozen firefighters have been deployed to control the blaze, which broke out on Friday, but their efforts have been undermined by strong winds.
The fire is currently at 0% containment, according to a Cal Fire incident report. The fire on Santa Rosa Island appears to have started after a sailor crashed his boat against the rocks on the shore of the island, leaving him stranded.
The 67-year-old man shot at least two flares in an attempt to get passing boats to take notice of him. The attempt appeared to work, according to Kenneth Wiese, a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard’s southwest district.
Wiese said people onboard two separate vessels contacted the National Park Service to say they suspected someone was marooned on Santa Rosa, part of Channel Islands national park off the southern California coast. The Coast Guard sent a helicopter that was already in flight to retrieve the man, who had spent the night on the island.
The man had etched the letters “SOS” into the charred ground, according to images posted to Instagram by the Coast Guard. Officials took him to a hospital in nearby Camarillo.