A Stranded Sailor’s Flare Sparked California’s Biggest Wildfire This Year

A distress flare fired by a stranded sailor appears to have ignited the largest wildfire California has seen in 2025, scorching more than 10,000 acres on Santa Rosa Island and threatening rare plants that conservationists have spent years trying to restore. The blaze, which broke out Friday, has already destroyed two historic structures and forced the closure of the island, part of the Channel Islands National Park off the southern coast. As of Monday, the fire remains completely uncontained, with strong winds hampering the efforts of roughly 70 firefighters on the scene.

The incident began when a 67-year-old man crashed his boat into rocks near the island’s shore and became stranded. Desperate to attract attention, he fired at least two flares. His gamble paid off: two passing boaters noticed the signals and alerted the National Park Service. The Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter already in the air to rescue the man, who had spent a cold night on the island. He was taken to a hospital in Camarillo, apparently uninjured. Photos posted by the Coast Guard show the word “SOS” etched into the blackened earth near where he waited.

Coast Guard spokesperson Kenneth Wiese confirmed the flares were used but declined to name them as the fire’s cause, noting the National Park Service is investigating. The NPS has not yet commented. The fire has destroyed Johnson’s Lee Equipment Shed and Wreck Line Camp Cabin. Santa Rosa is known for its rich biodiversity—often called the “Galapagos of California”—but its ecology was damaged by decades of livestock grazing and non-native wildlife. Those animals were removed a decade ago, allowing native plants to return. Now, firefighters are racing to protect six plant species found only on this island, as well as a rare stand of Torrey pines.