On day eight of the Santa Rosa Island Fire — the largest wildfire ever recorded on any of the Channel Islands — patrols are now transitioning to the “mop-up” phase as more than half of the fire perimeter has been contained. Crews are extinguishing any remaining burning material along or near the control line.
Flames were seen from the mainland reaching into the sky as the fire progressed, and blackened areas now stretch across the island after burning more than a third of its area.
It was first reported on May 15, after a 67-year-old mariner crashed his boat into the rocks on the island the previous night. The fire — the “human-caused” outbreak of which is still under investigation by authorities — has now burned 18,379 acres and is 59 percent contained, according to a Friday morning update by officials (via InciWeb ).