Wildfire on Santa Rosa Island grows past 10,000 acres

A wildfire on Santa Rosa Island in California's Channel Islands National Park has grown to more than 10,000 acres, making it the largest fire ever recorded on the island and the state's largest wildfire so far this year. The blaze, which remains at zero percent containment, was inadvertently sparked by a stranded sailor attempting to signal for rescue.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the fire began after a 67-year-old man crashed his sailboat onto rocks along the island's rugged southern coast on Friday. The mariner, who spent the night stranded, fired emergency flares to attract attention. A sportfishing boat captain, Jace Malone, reported seeing the man waving from a small patch of unburned land, surrounded by scorched vegetation and near an "SOS" scratched into the blackened earth. The Coast Guard rescued the man by helicopter on Saturday; he was not seriously injured.

The flares ignited dry vegetation, and strong winds rapidly spread the fire across the remote island. Officials said firefighters faced significant challenges, including gusty conditions that grounded water-dropping aircraft and rough seas that required all personnel and equipment to be transported by boat....