'Sad and frustrating': Calif. national park island closed indefinitely after fire

Santa Rosa Island will remain closed "at least" through June 30 after a wildfire tore through the 53,000-acre island, Channel Islands National Park announced in a news release Thursday.

The fire started May 15 after a wrecked sailboat caught fire and grew into California's largest wildfire this year. The wildfire burned "less than 40 percent" of the island, according to the news release, and as of Thursday, it was finally approaching full containment.

"Although the fire is expected to reach 100 percent containment today, significant hazards remain across the landscape," Channel Islands National Park Superintendent Ethan McKinley said in the news release. "The temporary closure helps protect visitors, employees, and emergency personnel while allowing specialists to assess fire impacts and determine what actions are needed to safely reopen portions of the island."

Despite its relative proximity to Southern California's major population centers, Channel Islands is one of California's least visited national parks, in part because visiting the park requires traveling by boat, so visitors need to find an available campsite that also lines up with the schedule of Island Packers, the park's boat concessionaire. Planning a trip to Santa Rosa Island requires much more advance planning than, say, driving into Joshua Tree National Park, and the closure means it might be a while before visitors who had trips planned can reschedule. Some campsites currently show as available to book on limited dates in July, with more availability opening up in August.

"The unknown is the biggest challenge now," Eric Cohen, who currently has a camping reservation on the island for July, wrote in a text message to SFGATE. Cohen added that he still hadn't heard whether the park will be able to accommodate his reservation.

"Everything else is booked up and so it would mean no family vacation this summer. ... Totally understand the situation, just sad and frustrating," Cohen wrote.

A burned area emergency response team will begin reviewing post-fire conditions on the island June 5 and spend about a week "identifying immediate risks to public safety, infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources," according to the news release.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 7:14 PM.