Fire tearing through Santa Rosa Island reaches critically endangered trees
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- A wildfire on remote Santa Rosa Island has burned through a rare Torrey pine grove — one of only two natural populations on Earth — but many ancient trees appear to have survived.
- A flare from a shipwrecked sailor sparked the 16,942-acre blaze, now 26% contained, as calmer winds finally allowed air tankers and reinforcements to attack the island’s rugged terrain.
- The fire threatens a genetically distinct Torrey pine subspecies and other Channel Islands wildlife, raising concerns about disrupted food webs, habitat loss and erosion that could reshape this fragile ecosystem.
The critically endangered Torrey pine tree only grows naturally two places in the world — a state park near San Diego and on Santa Rosa Island — and one of those places is on fire.
A wildfire sparked by a flare from a shipwrecked sailor has burned through nearly one-third of Santa Rosa Island, including the Torrey pine grove on the east side of the island, according to the National Park Service.
The extent of damage done to the nation’s rarest pine tree species remains unclear. But there is reason for hope.
On Monday, the blaze passed through the pine grove area, which is home to trees that are more than 250 years old, according to the park service.
Fortunately, the fire was burning at a low intensity at the time, and when fire crews performed an initial assessment, they observed that the stand of trees remained largely intact, according to the park service.
It is likely that the grove retained some heat and isolated pockets of fire, park service spokesperson Sierra Frisbie said Tuesday evening. Drones will be used to perform a more in-depth assessment of the condition of the Torrey pines on Wednesday, she noted.
A wildfire sparked by the flare of a shipwrecked mariner has burned around one-fourth of Santa Rosa Island and marks what officials called the largest blaze recorded on the island in modern history.
“I was devastated yesterday when I saw the maps that the fire was reaching into the Torrey pines,” said Greg Pauly, a curator of herpetology at the L.A. County Museum of Natural History who has studied the Channel Islands for 14 years. “This is one of only two Torrey pine populations left in the world.”
Thousands of years of genetic isolation have made the island pine a distinct subspecies from the trees found in Torrey Pines State Reserve in San Diego, according to the park service. The island tree is shorter and bushier, its bark thicker and its cones rounder than the mainland tree.
This genetic isolation also makes the island tree more vulnerable to environmental threats — such as drought, a new disease or pests — in comparison with a tree species with a more diverse gene pool.
That is why the park service closely monitors the health of the Torrey pines. Until the recent fire, studies had indicated that the island population was thriving, according to the park service.
Santa Rosa Island also is home to a lizard species found on three of the Channel Islands, a spotted skunk endemic to two Channel Islands, a unique island fox subspecies and several uncommon birds.
Time will tell the extent to which the blaze has disrupted the island’s unique ecosystem.
Pauly, who specializes in the study of reptiles and amphibians, said he was especially concerned about how the loss of vegetation would affect the availability of insects for mid-level predators to feed on and places for them to hide from larger predators. He also raised concerns about whether fire damage would lead to increased erosion and the accumulation of silt in streams when rainstorms arrive in the winter.
Fire crews did appear to turn a corner in their challenging battle on remote and rugged terrain Tuesday. Winds diminished, and crews were able to make multiple water and fire-retardant drops on the fire, using large air tankers such as a modified Boeing 737 that can drop up to 4,000 gallons in a single pass.
By Tuesday evening, firefighters had reached 26% containment on the 16,942-acre blaze, according to the park service.
Gusty winds had initially prevented the use of firefighting aircraft, and two historic buildings were quickly destroyed — Johnson’s Lee Equipment Shed and the Wreck Line Camp Cabin. Crews also had to wait for boats to transport personnel and firefighting equipment to the island.
Additional reinforcements are set to arrive Wednesday, including a crew from the Chumash Fire Department and specially designed wildland fire engines, which will help increase access to rugged sections of the island.
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