Flares released after a sailboat crash caused a wildfire that has grown to 1,000 acres on Santa Rosa Island as of Friday afternoon.
U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Richard Uranga confirmed to Noozhawk that a 67-year-old man on a sailboat crashed into the rocks on Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands National Park.
The man was not injured. There were no other people on board the sailboat at the time.
He shot fire flares into the air to “try and get help, which is what caused the fire,” Uranga said.
The man was rescued from the island Friday morning around 10:30 a.m. and taken to the Camarillo Medical Center, per Uranga.
The fire was 0% contained as of Friday at 4:27 p.m.
The fire was reported in a “remote section of the island” and fire crews were heading to the area by boat, according to CalFire.
No structures were reported damaged or threatened.
Additional information was not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Check back with Noozhawk for updates.

