New satellite images reveal how quickly the human-caused Santa Rosa Island Fire scorched about one-third of the California island in just over a week.
Published Jun 2, 2026 11:21 AM CDT
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Updated Jun 2, 2026 11:21 AM CDT
A stranded boater signals SOS from Santa Rosa Island as a wildfire burns across nearly a third of the remote California island. The 67-year-old was rescued May 16. The fire’s cause is under investigation.
A pair of newly released NASA satellite images show just how dramatically the Santa Rosa Island Fire changed one of California’s Channel Islands in little more than a week, with a burn scar spreading across a large section of the island. The human-caused fire, which started on May 15, ultimately burned 18,379 acres, about one-third of Santa Rosa Island.
One image shows the island on May 16, a day after the fire was first spotted, while a second image from May 24 reveals how much more of the landscape had been scorched after several days of growth. In NASA’s false-color imagery, burned areas appear brown while healthy vegetation shows up in green.
An animation showing the burn scar from the Santa Rosa Island Fire on May 16, compared to May 24. (NASA)
“Santa Rosa Island, like the other Channel Islands, is known for its diversity of plant and animal species, some of them rare,” NASA said. “Observers were concerned that the fire threatened the island’s Torrey pines, a rare type of tree that in the United States grows naturally only on the northeastern coast of Santa Rosa Island and near San Diego.”
Initial post-fire surveys indicated the Torrey pine stand remained largely intact, with the canopy mostly spared, though NASA said some pockets of forest were damaged where fire intensity was higher. Fire crews also worked along the northwest edge of the blaze to protect the island’s cloud forests by cooling fuels ahead of the fire.
An image of the Water Canyon Campground on Santa Rosa Island taken after the fire scorched the area. (National Park Service)
The Santa Rosa Island Fire is now 97% contained, and no further growth is expected, according to the latest incident update from InciWeb. Four structures were destroyed by the fire, including two uninhabited historic structures.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, but have stated that it was human-caused. A man was rescued from the island after writing “SOS” in the charred landscape, and some have speculated that he could be linked to the origins of the destructive blaze.
With the fire nearly over, attention is starting to shift toward what comes next. Burned Area Emergency Response specialists are scheduled to arrive on the island on June 5 to begin assessing damage and identifying areas that may need emergency stabilization and longer-term rehabilitation.