Flares from a stranded sailor spark 1,200-acre wildfire on Santa Rosa Island

Distress flares released after a sailboat crash caused a wildfire that grew to 1,200 acres on Santa Rosa Island as of Saturday afternoon.

U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Richard Uranga confirmed to Noozhawk that a 67-year-old man on a sailboat crashed into the rocks on Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands National Park.

The man was not injured. There were no other people on board the sailboat at the time.

He shot fire flares into the air to “try and get help, which is what caused the fire,” Uranga said.

A photo from the Coast Guard showed the boat, named the “New Hustler,” full submerged with only its mast extending from the water, while the man waited for rescue on shore at the edge of a burned hillside.

The man was rescued from the island Friday morning around 10:30 a.m. and taken to the Camarillo Medical Center, per Uranga.

The fire was 0% contained as of Saturday at 8:28 a.m., according to Cal Fire.

The fire was reported in a “remote section of the island” and fire crews were heading to the area by boat, Cal Fire said on Friday.

“Moderate fire behavior was observed overnight with terrain-driven runs,” Cal Fire added on Saturday.

According to the Watch Duty app, more than two dozen firefighters and rangers were working the incident on Saturday, with another crew on the way that morning.

Water-dropping aircraft was also deployed to the fire.

No structures were reported damaged or threatened.

Additional information was not immediately available.

This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Flares from a stranded sailor spark 1,200-acre wildfire on Santa Rosa Island."