The public closure of Santa Rosa Island due to the fire that sparked last month has been extended through the end of June, a National Park Service spokesperson confirmed.
The fire, which hit the south and eastern sides of the island, reached 97% containment at 18,379 acres last week. The island itself is roughly 53,000 acres, and sits off the Santa Barbara County coast.
While the official cause of the fire remains under investigation, it is believed to be human-caused. A man was rescued on May 15 after his boat crashed into that side of the island and he ignited flares to signal for help, per the U.S. Coast Guard.
Santa Rosa Island is part of Channel Islands National Park and the firefighting response was a multi-agency effort led by the NPS and U.S. Wildland Fire Service.
The full extent of the damages and which areas of the island were most impacted are yet to be determined.
Several historic structures were damaged or destroyed, and the fire burned through the Water Canyon Campground and rare Torrey pine tree grove on the island, according to federal officials.
Members with the Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team — such as engineers, ecologists and park staff, among others — are set to begin assessing the island for “post-fire conditions” on Friday, according to Park Service spokesperson Mary Wood.
Wood said the BAER team will look at soil and environmental stability, infrastructure damage and any hydrological changes. She also said they will look at any hazards to natural and cultural resources.
That data will be used to track the impacts on the island post-fire, according to Matt Guilliams from the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
Back in 2017, the Garden launched a project to protect 14 rare plant species on the Channel Islands.
Guilliams, who has been documenting the biodiversity on Santa Rosa Island for years for the garden, was originally supposed to visit the island last month for a documentation project before the fire sparked.
Guilliams said he is “optimistic” about the island plants’ abilities to respond and recover from wildfire.
Santa Rosa Island “is a very special place,” he added.
After BAER finishes its assessments, the Park Service will determine whether the island can reopen to the public at the end of June or whether the closure will be extended, per Wood.
Wood said the National Park Service will only reopen areas “when they can be accessed safely.”
That 97% containment means crews have “established control lines around the perimeter,” and they spent the past week “working with resource advisors and other specialists on suppression repair activities,” per Wood.
Fighting the fire was a team effort, with more than 180 personnel assigned.
“Countless additional professionals from both government and non‑government organizations played an essential role in the overall success of the operation,” she said.
That includes Island Packers, a service that regularly shuttles campers and other visitors to and from the islands.
The service has helped transport more than 100 firefighters and staff to and from the island over seven runs since the fire started, Island Packers education coordinator Andrea Mills said late last week.
She said Island Packers has been working “in tandem” with other organizations like the Parks Service, helping transport people while others transported equipment.
Moving forward, Island Packers will continue communicating with the Park Service to help transport people as needed, she said.
“…it’ll take a long time to establish what damage was done to other species,” she said.
