Santa Rosa Island Fire Continues To Burn
The bad news continues from Santa Rosa Island. The fire has now burned almost 17,000 acres on the 50,000-acre island and is only 26% contained. News reports now have more detail on the boat, which was on fire as it lay on its side, wrecked on the beach. It’s reported to be a 54-ft sailboat named Wet Vette that sails out of Long Beach.
The owner recorded a video of the boat on fire, saying in the video, “Wow, that is a hot fire, I hope it doesn’t start this island on fire; that wouldn’t be good.” As reported on Monday, the sailor, who unsurprisingly wishes to remain anonymous, inexplicably felt compelled to fire off flares to alert local fishermen about his need for rescue. A tragic mistake.
As many commenters pointed out in the comments on Monday, there are many potentially better ways to signal distress besides firing off flares near dry grassland. Locals report there is no cell service there so a cell phone wouldn’t work unless you have a model with the ability to send SOS signals. A working handheld VHF would likely be best since it would reach any nearby boat monitoring Channel 16 (which we should all be doing while boating). An EPIRB would also summon help, and non-pyrotechnic flares like Sirius Signal could also work.
Regardless of the rescue options, Santa Rosa is an inhabited island with roads, paths and people nearby. The sailor was reported to be uninjured, so we continue to be mystified regarding what the urgency was for rescue, unless it was perhaps a misplaced hope that the boat could be saved.
Don Litton, whose Columbia 29 Pythagoras appeared on our March cover and who has regularly cruised these islands with his family, wrote in our Monday comments of the incredible sadness he’s feeling for the islands and the endangered Torrey pines, which grow only on Santa Rosa Island and in the San Diego area.
Don describes the area behind the photo: “The coast beyond the boat in the anchorage has burned, according to the CAL FIRE map. The area has a great deal of Chumash artifacts. It appears to have been a feasting and gathering spot.”
Don describes Becher’s Bay as the main anchorage there, with the best area up at the pier in the northwest corner of the bay. “I took the shots as I was sailing northwest toward the pier, if that makes sense. It’s not an anchorage there though one could; it’s all sandy bottom there and sheltered from the prevailing NW swell. In the afternoon that wouldn’t be comfortable as it gets really windy and choppy there.”
The Channel Islands are one of California’s great treasures, and we were happy to learn more when Don Litton wrote about his family cruising on Pythagoras. Though most photos we see of cruising these remote islands show empty anchorages, we know it’s a cherished destination for many Southern California sailors or those who cruise south from Alaska on down.
The video taken by the Wet Vette sailor can be seen in this television news report. We hope to learn more over time and hope the fire can be brought under control quickly. It’s a popular destination for Memorial Day Weekend.