A third of National Park island home to rare wildlife has burned in spate of Southern California wildfires

 A third of Santa Rosa Island located in California's Channel Islands National Park an area to dozens of rare plants and animals. While officials believe the blaze ignited Friday and grew 17,554 acres from Thursday morning could possibly be the largest wildfire documented for Santa Rosa Island. Ana Cholo told CNN it is also the largest fire in California so far this year according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Fires of this size and magnitude are not considered common on Santa Rosa Island the blaze was only 44% contained based on initial assessments the island rare Torrey pine trees still exist and remain largely intact. However high intensity fire burned small pockets of the area, This critically endangered native species currently grows naturally only on Santa Rosa Island and a small preserve near San Diego.

The Channel Islands have been described has akin to the Galapagos in South America with their isolation allowing the evolution of unique species and subspecies. Santa Rosa Island alone is home to around 46 endemic or unique plants and animals according to the park service. Several have been threatened by by the wildfire. which has at times exhibited extreme behavior as it's moved north from the southeastern shore of the island.

The National Park Service is handling the investigation into the cause of the fire. That investigation is ongoing, Cholo said. It is described as “human-caused” on the National Interagency Fire Center incident page. The National Park Service is handling the investigation into the cause of the fire. That investigation is ongoing, Cholo said. The US Coast Guard responded to the fire Friday and rescued a 67-year-old sailor whose boat crashed into rocks there, according to posts on social media. Photos provided to CNN by the Coast Guard show the man standing near the letters “SOS” carved into charred ground.