Blackened Santa Rosa Island Reopens to Visitors, With Overnight Restrictions Continuing
After a devastating wildfire and a closure lasting more than six weeks, Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands National Park reopened to visitors on July 1. While day-use access is allowed, overnight camping remains shut down through August 13, pending a review later this month. The park acknowledges that full recovery from the 18,379-acre fire will take years.
“We know visitors are eager to return to Santa Rosa Island, and we are working carefully to restore safe public access while protecting park resources,” Park Superintendent Ethan McKinley said in a press release. “Opening the island for day use is an important step, but additional work is needed before overnight camping can resume.”
The wildfire began after the 54-ft sailing vessel Wet Vette became disabled and ran aground on Santa Rosa’s southern shore on Thursday, May 14, according to SFGATE, which obtained video of the vessel on fire while beached. The yacht is seen with no mainsail and a partially furled jib flapping uncontrollably while thick black smoke and fire pour out of the main hatch.
The 67-year-old singlehanded sailor fled the flames to shore, staying overnight as his vessel burned. He reportedly set off flares the next day to alert fishing vessels and the Coast Guard about the fire and his need for rescue. He was airlifted on Friday, May 15, which is also the official start date for the fire. The flares do not appear to be the cause of the wildfire, and no charges have been filed.
“The boat owner and insurance company are standing by to mitigate any debris,” Carson Shevitz of TowBoatUS affiliate Channel Watch Marine Services told Latitude 38.
Shevitz said the National Park Service has not allowed his team access to the site, but once they can go in, they are ready to cut up the wreckage and either float it off in sling bags or hoist it away via helicopter.
He added, “I don’t think there’s going to be much boat left.”
ACCESSING SANTA ROSA ISLAND BY PRIVATE BOAT
Mariners anchoring off the coast can now once again access the island, but be aware the southwestern half is blackened and charred, with unstable ground and questionable trail conditions. Access to islands in the Channel Islands National Park does not require a permit, as long as mariners are not staying overnight.
Restrictions on land include normal seasonal closures of beaches and sand dunes from Skunk Point to just north of East Point from March 1 to September 15, to protect the snowy plover. Hikers are asked to remain on wet sand below high tide, or on the roads throughout the nesting area. Beaches around Sandy Point are closed year-round.
What is available to mariners is the pier in Becher’s Bay; however no mooring cans are available there. The buoys are reserved for official vessels only. Other restrictions on land and around the pier may exist because of the fire damage. Mariners are advised to hail rangers on channel 16 on approach to ask about current conditions.