{"id":136167,"date":"2026-05-22T02:52:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/what-were-losing-in-the-santa-rosa-island-fire\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T02:52:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T05:52:38","slug":"what-were-losing-in-the-santa-rosa-island-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/what-were-losing-in-the-santa-rosa-island-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"What We\u2019re Losing in the Santa Rosa Island Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The current fire<\/a> that has burned 17,554 acres of Santa Rosa Island\u2019s 53,760 acres, or 32.7 percent, is historically significant. This fire now has the distinction of being the largest on any of the eight California Channel Islands in recorded history. Previously, a 13,000-acre blaze on San Clemente Island in July 2024 held the record, started by military exercises on the Navy island.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fire threatens the sensitive habitat of the island\u2019s endemic flora \u2014 Santa Rosa Island Manzanita, Santa Rosa Island Torrey Pine, Santa Rosa Island Live-forever, Hoffmann\u2019s Gilia, Munchkin Dudleya, Island Tree Mallow; several of which are already listed as endangered species. The fire also threatens the island\u2019s populations of rare fauna \u2014 island foxes, island spotted skunks, island deer mice, and many more.<\/p>\n

Also concerning is the loss of history. At least three historic structures have already been confirmed lost: Johnson\u2019s Lee Equipment Shed on the western edge of the fire and the Wreck Line Camp Cabin on the eastern edge. Additionally, a storage structure adjacent to the equipment shed was also reduced to ashes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even more concerning, the National Park Service is taking preventative measures to ensure the fire does not spread to the historic Main Ranch structures, a worst case situation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Forgotten History of Johnson\u2019s Lee<\/strong><\/p>\n

Johnson\u2019s Lee | Credit: Courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the only harbor on the south side of Santa Rosa Island, the name \u201cJohnson\u2019s Lee\u201d harkens back to United States Coast Survey employee William M. Johnson, who was in charge of Channel Islands topographic surveys compiled in 1855, 1859, and 1860.<\/p>\n

From 1951-1963, a large military installation was developed in response to the threat of attacks during the Cold War. It consisted of seven two-story barracks, a mess hall, a power house, a pier, three maintenance buildings, seven administrative support buildings, two water tanks, an incinerator, and a number of small sheds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The U.S. government leased about 10 acres for this Air Force Air Control and Warning Station. It was manned until 1963 with up to 300 personnel. In 1965, the facility was abandoned, and demolition of the facility was delayed due to asbestos mitigation issues. Vail & Vickers re-purposed building materials from the site for decades, going so far as to relocate an entire building to the Main Ranch, as noted by Marla Daily<\/a>, president emerita of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the early 1990s, the facility was largely torn down by Channel Islands National Park. However, a few structures, including the Johnson\u2019s Lee Equipment Shed, were preserved for their historic and educational value.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ford Point, or \u201cWreck\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Ford Point | Credit: Courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wreck Line Camp Cabin was located on the island\u2019s southeast quarter to the east of Johnson\u2019s Lee. The nickname \u201cThe Wreck,\u201d comes from the 1894 stranding of the Crown of England<\/em>. This served as a survey station established in 1934 by Charles K. Green, who wrote it was located on a \u201cportion of the wood deck of a wrecked ship standing vertically in the ground 35 feet in height on Skunk Point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally, The Wreck camp was established by early ranchers Vail & Vickers to salvage lumber and materials that washed ashore from the frequent shipwrecks along the treacherous island coastlines.<\/p>\n

Historical Significance<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Johnson\u2019s Lee plane wreck | Credit: Courtesy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The loss of Johnson\u2019s Lee Equipment Shed amounts to the loss of the last physical structure connecting us to this long and imposing history of the Cold War\u2013era Air Force Base.<\/p>\n

These two structures, the Johnson\u2019s Lee Equipment Shed and the Wreck Line Camp Cabin, were maintained as part of the island\u2019s historical and cultural heritage after the National Park Service took over the land from the Vail ranching family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Tim Vail, former Santa Rosa Island rancher<\/a> and president of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my years on the island, I can think of three or four fires on Santa Rosa Island. We know that the fires are overwhelmingly human-caused. It saddens me to see the loss of several historic buildings and irreplaceable artifacts that my family looked after for generations. Not to mention, the endangerment of several endemic plants and animals found on Santa Rosa Island \u2014 notably the Torrey pines. It is now, perhaps more than ever, important that we protect the human history of the many families that lived on these islands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally lost in the fire was a downed plane, Stinson L-5, used by bow hunters to poach deer from the island who, after hitting a cattle wallow on the ridge top and breaking their landing gear, walked into ranch headquarters and complained that they had to make an emergency landing. They were to return the following weekend with replacement parts, but by the time they returned, the cattle had eaten the fabric off the plane\u2019s wings.<\/p>\n

A History of Fires on Santa Rosa Island<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is not the first instance of fire on Santa Rosa Island.\u00a0<\/p>\n