Majority of Santa Rosa Island’s Rare Torrey Pines Predicted to Perish

Many of Santa Rosa Island’s iconic torrey pine trees are predicted to perish due to the large wildfire that torched the island this spring, the Channel Islands National Park service announced on September 1. 

Initial assessments from Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) specialists indicate that 60 to 80 percent of the trees may die, despite earlier hopes that the trees could survive the burn. 

The Santa Rosa Island Fire — which ignited after a man reportedly crashed his sailboat into the island on May 15 — burned 18,379 acres, or almost two-fifths of the island, before firefighters contained it on June 4. It stands as the largest wildfire ever recorded in Channel Islands history. 

The island’s grove of rare Torrey pine trees burned over. As news of the fire spread across the globe, questions around the critically endangered trees’ well-being had conservationists everywhere biting their nails.

The island grove is one of only two naturally occurring Torrey pine populations in the world, and the only location for the island subspecies. 

The last count in 2014 documented 24,000 Torrey pines of all ages on the island, including approximately 3,000 mature cone-producing trees. 

Due to the trees’ rarity and the island’s limited fire history, it was initially unclear whether the trees would be able to recover, or if they were burned beyond hope. 

The BAER report confirmed that the fire severely impacted the grove. Now, erosion control crews are working to stabilize burned slopes while another is “preparing for the forest’s future,” according to the park service. 

Staff and cooperators collected more than 14,000 Torrey pine seeds released from cones after the fire. Viable seeds will be propagated in an island nursery and grown into seedlings to eventually be planted in key locations within the burned grove, with the remaining seeds placed in a seed bank, the service said. 

The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden hosts a seed bank where they could be stored. Nearby, the garden is also nurturing its own grove of 45 off-island Torrey pine saplings, which it planted in March for conservation purposes, preparing for potential catastrophes such as wildfires. 

Park staff expect to plant approximately 300 to 500 seedlings across a 15-acre restoration area on Santa Rosa Island. But with winter storms approaching, staff must first stabilize burned hillsides that are highly vulnerable to erosion before the fragile topsoil needed for future restoration is washed away. 

“While many mature trees cannot be saved, biologists say the soil beneath them can,” the service said. The BAER team identified the grove’s protection as one of the island’s highest priorities before the onset of winter. The park service will draw on more than 15 years of experience restoring the island’s rare cloud forest that suffered decades of erosion and habitat loss. Many of those same restoration techniques, from erosion control to native plant propagation, can be applied to the Torrey pines, the service said.

“The potential loss of so many mature Torrey pines is heartbreaking,” said Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Ethan McKinley. “But we must resolve ourselves to focus on what we can save, and the next few months are critical. The fire may be over, but we’re now in a race against time. Protecting these slopes before winter storms arrive gives us the best opportunity to restore this extraordinary landscape for future generations.” 

Other Impacts

BAER team members were on the island from June 5 to June 10 to conduct field reconnaissance and compile data about fire-impacted natural and cultural resources. From there, they evaluated fire-related impacts and post-fire threats, and they identified what work should be done to begin to stabilize and rehabilitate the island. 

Beyond the Torrey pines, the BAER team’s reports covered threats to watersheds, cultural resources, public safety and recreation, vegetation, wildlife, trails, and paleontological resources. 

For example, unlike the Torrey pines, the BAER report suggests that many of the island’s grasslands and shrubs are expected to recover naturally.  A majority of the habitat containing other federally protected species were unburned or burned at low severity — making their recovery not an immediate concern. Only a small portion of the island’s rare oaks in the Cloud Forest Restoration Site burned. Additionally, BAER specialists estimated that only 5 percent of the island’s endemic Dudleya population — a succulent that grows nowhere else — was impacted, but may need to be monitored. 

Impacts to wildlife were considered minimal for highly mobile species such as the Channel Islands fox. However, the island burned during nesting season for resident birds. Across the burn area, many nests were burned, and specialists identified a burned bald eaglet. Additionally, habitat loss and less vegetation cover are expected to impact wildlife in the long-term. Any bird species that would nest in the Torrey pines, for example, will be out of luck for decades. Restoration efforts will begin immediately, but full recovery will take generations, the park service said. 

Others will benefit from the fire, such as birds like woodpeckers that nest in dead trees. Researchers, too, will get a rare glimpse into how this island ecosystem repairs itself. 

The National Park Service said it will work with numerous partners throughout the recovery, including the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, whose members have played an important role in the stewardship of Santa Rosa Island’s native ecosystems and are expected to assist with future restoration efforts. 

Some hope the fire presents other opportunities. Nita Vail, daughter of the ranching family that raised animals, including cattle, on the island for almost a century before it was taken over by the National Park Service, would like to see public access improved post-fire. 

While she was devastated to see much of the island where she was raised turned to ash, “I’m trying to look at the positives here, where opportunities could come from this,” she told the Independent. She said she would like to see the park embrace the island’s history — from its use by Chumash tribes to the decades it was grazed and called home by island cowboys.

For now, recreation is still limited during wildfire recovery. The island will remain closed to overnight camping until at least October 12, according to the park service’s website. Backcountry camping will remain closed for the remainder of the 2026 recreational season. And while day use of the island resumed on July 1, burned areas and shorelines adjacent to burned areas are still closed to the public. Some popular camping sites on the island may be at slight risk of landslides, or debris flows, due to the loss of vegetation that holds the soil in place. Torrey Pines Trail, Cherry Canyon Trail, East Point Road, and Johnsons Lee Coastal Road were impacted, and camping infrastructure was damaged. Restricted areas include Torrey Pines Trail, Water Canyon, and a segment of Cherry Canyon Trail near Water Canyon Campground. The service said that its goal is to reopen overnight camping when and where conditions safely allow. 

For more information related to the Burned Area Emergency Response, visit the Santa Rosa Island Fire website.