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Posted on 05/19/2026 9:03:58 AM PDT by DFG
California's largest wildfire of the year was started by a sailor stuck on an isolated island who fired a flare gun to attract attention.
The 67-year-old was trapped on Santa Rosa Island in California's Channel Islands National Park.
The wildfire burned more than a quarter of the island, threatening rare Torrey pine trees found in only two locations in the United States.
According to the United States Coast Guard, the man became stranded after his sailboat struck rocks near Santa Rosa Island on Friday.
He remained on the island overnight before rescue crews reached him the following morning.
'The sailor fired emergency flares to signal for help, which inadvertently sparked a wildfire that grew to 1,000 acres by Friday afternoon,' officials from Coast Guard Air Station Ventura said.
Images from the scene showed the sailor had written 'SOS' in the scorched grassland.
More than 70 firefighters have been deployed to tackle the blaze, which has scorched nearly 14,600 acres since it began on Friday morning.
The fire, described by officials as human-caused, remained 0% contained on Monday.
The National Park Service said firefighting efforts had been complicated by the outbreak of several mainland fires, including the Sandy Fire in Simi Valley, which has burned more than 1,300 acres, destroyed at least one home and forced thousands of residents to evacuate.
'Today new wildfires ignited on the mainland which immediately became the priority,' the Park Service said in an incident update.
'Per policy, firefighting resources are always assigned based on the greatest threats to life, safety, and property. This prioritisation helps ensure that the most urgent needs are addressed first during rapidly evolving fire activity.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.com ...
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"California's largest wildfire of the year was started by a sailor stuck on an isolated island who fired a flare gun to attract attention. Pictured: The letters SOS carved out by the sailor on the island"
Well...it worked
They found him
Can you see me now?
He got rescued just in time to go to prison.
Here forward to be known as a “Bass-Gun”.
Some stupid with a flare gun.
Beat me by a minute!
At least he had a good reason. Not long ago a guy in my gun club tested his flare gun on the rifle range and burned it down. For his penance he had to rebuild the range.
Beat me to it!...................
In the mid sixties, I worked on an albacore boat out of San Pedro. If there was bad weather we’d anchor on the south side of Santa Rosa. We’d catch fresh fish among the ever-present kelp and relax on a beach where you could get abalone on rocks at low tide. I don’t know if there were any other living souls on the island, but there were unpaved roads and I think an abandoned Air Force facility. It did seem like something from a movie.
What a pantload. That pine likely needs fire to germinate and the reason it is in trouble is the lack of regular fire.
1. Yer gonna hit everything in the water. Try not to hit it going too fast.
2. "Give them blow-boaters a wide berth. They're deadly accurate with an empty wine bottle". Cap'n Don.. d:^D
> If there was bad weather we’d anchor on the south side of Santa Rosa.
thanks for the tip!
I lead a scouting type organization. We teach the kids all about conservation but tell them if it’s an emergency and your life is in danger, all those rules go our the window.
I literally tell them that if you need to light a forest size signal fire, do it.
This guy did nothing wrong.
There was smoke on the water.
And fire in the sky.
Maybe next time aim it slightly towards the ocean and not towards the island.
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