Sailor Seeking Rescue Starts Grassfire on Santa Rosa Island
Tragedy first struck a sailor in Southern California when he lost his boat on the shores of Santa Rosa Island, and then again when his rescue flare set the island on fire. SFGate reported that when the sailboat hit the shoreline on Santa Rosa Island on Friday the captain set off a flare, which lit an unintended grassfire that has now spread to over 10,000 acres of the 50,000-acre island.
From what we’ve learned online, the 67-year-old sailor may have first had a fire on their 54-ft sailboat, which then went aground and sank along the shore. After seeing the smoke from the fire, the captain of a charter fishing boat saw the stranded sailor and called the Coast Guard, who sent a helicopter to pick up the sailor and take them to safety.
The boat went aground Thursday night, the fire was seen early Friday morning, and the sailor was rescued by about 10:30 in the morning.
There have been strong winds fanning the flames all weekend, so the 10,000-acre fire continues to expand with zero containment so far. The island is a national park that is popular with Southern California cruisers. (Mike Pyzel wrote a story in our August 2020 issue about the pleasures — and challenges — of cruising these islands.) The fire has already destroyed two historic sites, including Johnson’s Lee Equipment Shed on the western edge, and the Wreck Line Camp Cabin on the eastern edge.
It’s a tragedy for the sailor, the national park and CAL FIRE, which is struggling to bring the fire under control.
According to Fox News, 11 National Park Service employees were evacuated from the island. Around 70 firefighters have been working across the weekend to contain the fire, with more expected to arrive today, KTLA News reported.
The island is home to six native plant species found only on Santa Rosa and nowhere else in the world.
There’s more to be learned in the days ahead. Meanwhile we all hope the fire can be contained as soon as possible.
What about a cell phone 911? No excuse for being dumb and inconsiderate.
“But for the grace of God go I.” We are always reluctant to post comments such as these since the internet is overloaded with these quick rushes to judgement before the facts are known. While it is entirely possible that he was ‘dumb and inconsiderate’ we can think of many other possible scenarios. He might have used his cell phone though his cell phone may have gone down with his ship. The handheld VHF went down with the ship or didn’t have the needed range for help. Maybe there’s no cell service there. He saw a charter fishing boat though he didn’t have the charter fishing boat captain’s phone number. There could also have been a personal medical injury involved. We certainly know many roadside fires have been started by roadside flares. We know firemen doing ‘controlled burns’ have mistakenly let them get out of control.
It could be that after hours of stressful battles against the weather he lost his boat on the rocks, managed to get to shore in dark early morning hours, cold, wet and hypothermic and was in a state of shock. We know of so many circumstances when people’s judgement can be clouded in ‘the fog of war’ or endless other physical, technical or emotional factors intrude on the ideal execution of recovery.
We like to think that if we’d been in his shoes we might have avoided going aground or, if aground, had somehow managed to get rescued without starting the fire but, we can think of many things from our past where, in hindsight, we could have done better.
Comments like this are one of the reasons we don’t like social media or the internet. We think when people take time to write a letter they have time to connect to their humanity, have empathy for others and simply take time to pause and consider the challenges others face. We can’t think of a benefit that comes from rushing to judge the actions of others. We may learn more in the days ahead and we acknowledge your quick judgement has a chance of being correct though our personal view of humanity is that the chance is slim. We’ve been wrong before but we hope, for everyone’s sake, an unfortunate accident was compounded by another unfortunate accident.
Generally, we really appreciate the thoughtful tone of all the letters and comments we receive from the sailing community but, like members of any community, we’re not all in our best form all the time.
We’ll see.
Should have used a radio or an epirb if there was no cell service
Pretty sure there is no cell service out there. Not sure a handheld vhf have a strong enough signal either. More often than not, wind is blowing offshore and above gale force this time of year. There is a Bernulli effect as the wind travels over the island with winds channeled and compressed around Point Conception. Although this is the leeward side of the island it is fully exposed to south swells Excellent surfing if you have the knowledge and the huevos to access. Johnson’s Lee anchorage area is likely where this happened. Hard to understand how this boat ended up aground here. Winds would typically blow you away from island. This entire area and well off shore consists of VERY thick kelp forests. Sailboats, especially larger ones, can easily get there keels, props, and anchors fouled. Hard to manage with power boat through kelp. My wife and I just celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. We spent the night there on our 26′ Columbia mk II before we were married. Typical conditions – severe gale force nw winds 40 – 50+ knots with1-2′ wind waves.The boat would heel on each tack as the anchor line hummed and tightened, then suddenly a violent jerk as the boat would then tack in the opposite direction. Wife began nervously playing solitare as I put in my ear plugs and drank my self to sleep. I knew if we drug we would blow out to sea and deal with that then. Wind died in wee hours and we were fine. The lesson I learned was to run a storm tri sail up the boom lift to stabilize the the boat and get a peaceful night’s sleep. Will be interesting to learn more about this incident. Lot of unanswered questions. (Capt Kirk – 100 ton master with sailing and commercial towing endorsements – retired)
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No cell service out there.
Thanks – that answers one question. The USCG is always worrying that inexperienced boaters count on cell phones to work the same at sea as they work on land. It can be a life-threatening misperception.
Both Verizon and t mobile have satellite service for texting. No excuse to not be aware.
https://www.verizon.com/support/satellite-faqs/
https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/satellite-phone-service?gclsrc=aw.ds&cmpid=MGPO_PB_P_25SATDLCH_307890364983_179499437172_782318489193&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=16905361613&gbraid=0AAAAAD79WuU2q5q6qUpjFb8TWcxuhHZlG
Rule one in marine communication is to use marine communicating devices like a VHF not only will a cell phone be limited by range but also in the emergency the 911 operator with have to transfer to the appropriate agency that could help. During an emergency, this slows down the response. This was taught to us in our offshore safety certification training.
John, excellant response. things happen exspecially at sea, the bay or on lakes. If you’ve boated enough, these things happen. and sometimes you do the best you can in situations.
Had this fire occurred in autumn, it might have been healthy for the grass lands. In the spring, not so much.
Santa Cruz Channel can be wicked.
Very sad about the fire. We were planning a visit in September this year. Hopefully they get it under control.
Also, I can confirm that there isn’t cell signal out there (sometimes you might make it through). There is an amateur radio repeater on the top of Santa Cruz Island you can hit that is linked to Santa Barbara. Highly recommend getting your ham license even for cruising.
Here’s what I want to know: What was a 67 year old man doing solo on a 54′ sailboat out there during those conditions? That’s most likely the cause and actual negligence leading to this fire. The weather from Friday until just yesterday was extremely rough reaching winds over 45 kts and 17 foot waves in the northern channel near Point Conception. I’ve sailed this Channel most of my life, own a sailboat of the same size, and I would never be out there at Santa Rosa solo in those conditions.
We hope to learn more ourselves and, until we do, we’ll withhold judgement. There are so many decisions people make that, in hindsight, they wish they’d done something differently. Or, as most accident reports conclude, an accident is usually not caused by a single event but by a series of unfortunate circumstances that arise. At this point we know a boat owner tragically lost their boat on the rocks and accidentally caused a fire. We all know experience helps but it’s not a guarantee of success in all situations. We hope to learn more.
Typo? “10,000-square-mile file”
You’re right – we goofed. Sadly, it’s now up to almost 15,000 acres.
The last time I was sailing the Channel Islands, there was no cell coverage on Santa Rosa or Santa Cruz including Forney’s, Coches Prietos, Smugglers Cove or Frys or Pelicans Cove. The Channel Islands are a formidable cruising grounds, but unbelievably beautiful. For me the main attraction is there is no cell coverage, no moorings and you’re basically on your own. It’s easy to armchair quarterback someone else’s experience. Sorry about the fires, but I am glad no one was killed or injured
He doesn’t seem to have any survival skills for ER situations. First he grounded his boat. Didn’t his radio work to call for help? Guessing no cell service. Didn’t have a satellite phone? If I’m out of civilization range, as an outdoor person, you bet I would have means for ER communication. Even my Apple Watch has satellite feature for ER situations. Then to top it off the he sets the island on fire. Did he shoot straight up or did he attempt to at least shoot it towards ocean and maybe wind caused it to blow back? He had time to think about his options, he wasn’t in eminent danger unless he was having a medical ER and chose one that was the least effective, because someone would have to be looking at the exact moment the flair is up. Maybe he wanted to live the Cast Away experience and have an exciting story to tell.
We continue to be reluctant to approve comments offering conjecture about the circumstnces, the person, and their abilities or motives. One thing we appreciate about sailors on the ocean is they are humble before mother nature. It feels easy sitting at a keyboard to know what a sailor, a pilot, a driver or a ski guide should have done. We certainly wouldn’t have done it that way ourselves. But we don’t have to think hard to come up with all kinds of coulda, woulda, shoulda moments in life.
AI guesses that ~230 million Apple watches have been sold since 2015. Many are lost or broken by now. So a small percentage of the 8 billion people on the planet have one. Perhaps an Apple watch might have helped this sailor but, we can make an infinite list of things that might have been done differently, though we suspect the list would get shorter once we stop guessing and know the facts. Surely there are lessons to be learned.
The Titanic sank in 2012 with lots of lessons learned, yet ships and sailboats are still sinking. The human race is still learning.
John, why so accomodating? Are you related? Hope the guy is financially charged for his errors in judgement.
Though I don’t know who the skipper is I suppose I could be related. That would be interesting. Maybe I’ve missed some news reports but, from my internet searches, I haven’t learned anything more than I knew yesterday so I really don’t know what to think. I guess this is why I stay away from social media and bulletin boards. I’m in no rush to know all the answers or punish someone who sadly found their way into all of our attention and is now being subjected to public prosecution without anyone hearing their side of the story. I don’t agree or disagree with what should happen next (I hope the fire gets put out.). I just want to understand first and decide after.
There are so many other things going on – Cayard won the Etchell’s Worlds, boats are signing up for the Baja Ha-Ha, friends are cruising the Med:https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/2026/05/18/#summer-cruising-in-the-med, Randall and Harmon are sailing back from Antarctica: https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/2026/05/18/#reeves-and-shragge-closing-the-around-the-americas-loop, Santa Rosa Island isn’t the only island in need of help: https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/2026/05/15/#farallon-islands-need-your-help.
We look forward to learning more about this terrible tragedy and simply don’t know how to form an opinion without having more information. Maybe that’s a personal shortcoming.
If anyone does know more about this sad situation we’d love to share it with our readers. Email to: [email protected]. Now back to our regularly scheduled sailing stories.
As someone who visits the islands often, and loves that island in particular, the words that come to mind like “heartbreaking” and “nightmare” don’t really even come close. And as of now the fire continues to burn and spread, about 17,000 acres now and they say 23% contained, but I think that is only because it hit the shoreline. It apparently has gone through the Torrey pines but the extent of the damage is yet to be seen. It seems they were going to get a drone on it today. I can only hope that the foxes and skunks were able to hunker down in the fire resistant shrubbery like lemonaid berry bushes. During the fire that swept over the east tip of Santa Cruz a few years ago it appeared that many foxes were able to ride it out. In that case the bushes were sort of islands in fields of grass. Currently the fire is going through valleys and canyons with more of a variety of vegetation. Inciweb is probably the best source for updates. So roughly a third of the island has been burned apparently and there isn’t much reason to hope right now that it will stop. The winds had held off the tankers and then the fire that sprang up on the mainland (and is still burning) has dominated the attention of the assets available. It is hard to overstate the size of this area that is burning. They have around 75 firefighters and they are focused on the ranch buildings near the pier, the campground about a mile down the road and the lighthouse at the southern tip which is about 10 miles away on the dirt roads. All I know about the sailor is what has been reported. The photo I saw appeared to be the rocky coast between Wreck Canyon and Ford Point. We know he went aground and his boat sunk and he had to spend the night on the island. There is a road not too far from where he was, and one can walk that road to the ranger station, but it is a hike. If he was not familiar with the area, or had no shoes, or food or water, leaving the beach wouldn’t have been a great choice. Given the weather he was lucky a fishing boat came by. It certainly would have been better if he had had a handheld VHF, EPIRB or PLB, or sat phone, and used them, of course. All we know is that he had flares and he used those. Perhaps that is all he could grab on the way out as the boat hit the rocks. Eventually we will find out and can glean lessons from it. But, for now, those of us who love that island are in a state of shock and mourning for every inch that is burning.
Oh, forgot, from the sailing angle, if I am right about the spot where he was found, he was near but not in a designated or typically used anchorage, so my guess is that he did not end up on the rocks due to dragging his anchor.
Here’s the link to stay up to date on the status of the fire: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/cacnp-santa-rosa-island-fire
Tracy Lehr News Channel 3-12 has posted a video on Facebook showing a boat on fire on the rocks that is purported to be the wreck in question. The man filming it appears to be the stranded sailor. He comments that the fire is very hot and he hopes it doesn’t light the island on fire. “That would not be good.”
Don – thanks for the note. We just posted an updated story with some of your photos: https://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/2026/05/20/#santa-rosa-island-fire-continues-to-burn and a link to that video.