A fire on Santa Rosa Island, part of Channel Islands National Park, has burned at least 10 thousand acres since Friday.
Eleven National Park Service employees were evacuated from the island on Sunday, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department’s X account.
The fire was first spotted on Friday, according to incident commanders. It’s located in a remote, southeastern part of Santa Rosa Island, and was totally uncontained as of Monday afternoon.
Authorities have said the blaze started after a man ran his boat aground sometime between late Thursday night and Friday morning.
Two historic structures on the island have been destroyed: Johnson’s Lee Equipment Shed and Wreck Line Camp Cabin.
According to the Cal Fire website, the fire is also a threat to endangered species and cultural resources. The rare Torrey pine only grows on Santa Rosa Island and in a reserve near San Diego. The annual herb Northern Channel Islands phacelia is another endangered plant native to the area.
Seventy personnel have responded to the fire, with incident commanders expecting more firefighters and equipment to arrive this week.
