Fires: Santa Rosa Island

Fires: SANTA ROSA ISLAND

• 2002. Anderson, R. Scott Fire and Vegetation History of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California

• 2026. Santa Rosa Island Fire Burns Through Rare Torrey Pine Grove Wildfire By Callie Fausey

A large effort is underway to save the island’s historic structures, housing, campgrounds, and pier as the “human-caused” fire scorches more than 16,000 acres.

Largest fire ever recorded on Santa Rosa Island endangers 'gem of California coast'

In the News~

November 3, 1969 Howard Albert Anderson, (1918-1969), cook on Santa Rosa Island, was killed in a ranch house fire. The fire was started by Anderson’s cigarette after he had been smoking in bed. Anderson was born in Arkansas, and had served in World War II. He had worked for Vail & Vickers for about six and a half years at the time of his death at age 51.

January 26, 2001 [LAT]: “A fire burned about 10 acres of grass and brush Monday on the southwest shore of Santa Rosa Island, federal authorities said. The blaze was reported about 8 A.M. by the crew of the commercial boat Vision, said Carol Spears, a spokeswoman for Channel Islands National Park. The cause of the fire was under investigation, she said. Crews from the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service battled the fire, along with two tankers and a helicopter.”

May 19, 2026 [LAT]: “Largest fire ever recorded on Santa Rosa Island endangers 'gem of California coast'.

May 19, 2026 [LAT]: “ When ecologist Michelle Gados learned of a fire on Santa Rosa Island, she couldn’t fully comprehend what she was hearing. It was a calm, foggy morning in May — not the right time of year for backcountry camping in that part of the island, where her colleague was reporting the fire over the radio. “I just didn’t register (it). Like, that’s impossible,” Gados said. “He went and got eyes on it — and it was happening.”. The arrival of the flames would mark the beginning of the largest fire in the island’s recorded history, lasting from May 15 through June 4. Gados, a restoration ecologist for Channel Islands National Park, believed that the fire would be small and quickly addressed. However, by that night, the blaze was still going. Fire crews arrived around 9:30 p.m., and by 10:30 p.m., Gados and other staff were setting up a spike camp near an old military compound on the island. However, the flames were already approaching the compound and could be seen from about 500 feet away. The crews quickly set some controlled blazes to stop the forward momentum and evacuated. “That day, it was just a lot of driving around and trying to get familiar with roads,” Gados said. “You need to formulate a plan as to attack the fire, but (keep) the fire crews safe.” By the time crews fully contained the fire, it would blacken almost a third of the island, including 23.25 miles of roads and 25.6 miles of trails. The 18,379-acre blaze is now the largest recorded wildfire in Channel Islands history.”