The Santa Rosa Island Fire has now burned more than 17,000 acres and is 44 percent contained, according to a Thursday morning update by officials. Overnight, fire activity was significantly lower than previous nights, officials said. It was mostly limited to low-intensity ground fire and smoldering, and no new heat was detected, as humidity levels have soared.
The fire erupted on Friday after a 67-year-old sailor from Long Beach ran his boat ashore the previous night. A video provided to KEYT on May 19 by the anonymous mariner shows the boat — a 54 foot-sailboat named Wet Vette — wrecked on the island’s shoreline. It is clearly on fire and sending smoke into the daytime air.
“That’s a hot fire — I hope I don’t set this island on fire. That wouldn’t be good,” the boater can be heard saying off screen.