Extinction of unique US animals and plants at risk in wildfire on California’s ‘Galapagos of North America’

Extinction has always been a risk on Santa Rosa Island. Researchers have hailed the California island as having the most prolific aleontological record of extinct species such as pygmy mammoth, flightless sea duck, vampire bat and giant deer mouse.

The environment is now home to animals and plants found nowhere else on Earth, earning its nickname “Galapagos of North America.” A human-caused wildfire now threatens those unique animals and plants with extinction, according to on-site fire officials.

Over a third of the island has burned since a wildfire started on May 15, which burned 18,379 acres and was at 87% containment as of Sunday morning, according to Channel Islands National Park officials. Santa Rosa is one of the five Channel Islands.

Credit: NASA

There is relatively less fire on the Channel Islands than on the mainland because ignition sources are much less common there and the foggy maritime climate generally limits fire spread. 

“Several island taxa have relaxed fire-adapted traits such as serotiny and seed germination characteristics,” officials said on the park’s website. “Records from both Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa show that fire frequencies increased over the last 5,000 years and reached their peaks during the historic period, approximately the last 200 years.”

A major concern of officials was the status of the island’s Torrey Pines, the rarest pine tree in North America. The trees once dominated the island’s “Cloud Forest” of plants that harvested water from the heavy fog that rolled across the island and condensed on leaves and twigs. Although small pockets of the trees did burn with higher intensity, recent drone imagery showed that groves of Torrey Pines still exist and remain largely intact.

“The National Park Service has special firefighters, known as fire effects crews, that will go to this area, taking measurements such as specific fire severity calculations and observations,” officials said in a recent update. “This is not just a single snapshot but will be part of long-term monitoring of effects to better understand fire in this ecosystem.” 

Credit: Inciweb

Officials were already working to restore the island’s native ecosystem before the fire started. Grazing that started during European colonization of the area in the mid-1800s eliminated over 75% of the entire island’s native vegetation, park officials said.

While many native plants have since been reestablished throughout the island, the Cloud Forest hasn’t recovered. Grazing animals stripped the soil down to bedrock and severely increased soil erosion, causing trees to topple. Crews responding to the fire are reportedly aware of this ongoing issue and are working with biologists, archeologists and cultural specialists to minimize ground disturbance and soil compaction.

“This work will reduce soil erosion potential by spreading and slowing water flow and increasing soil cover, discouraging undesired access, and reducing visual impacts of fire suppression activities,” crews said.

The wildfire’s effect on the vulnerable environment’s recovery won’t be fully understood until researchers analyze the landscape after the fire is 100% contained.

Record-low water shortages expected ahead of very active US wildfire season

The United States’ Natural Resources Conservation Service on Thursday issued a dire forecast for Western states, ahead of what’s expected to be a very active wildfire season.

The Service, overseen by the Department of Agriculture, said many of the states’ rivers are expected to have extremely low streamflows for the spring and summer seasons.

“Many of the rivers are likely to experience well-below median streamflows, which may rival the lowest flows on record for the region,” the Service said in the Department’s most recent Water and Climate Update. “Water shortages are anticipated in many locations, especially for entities that rely on surface streamflow water, without the benefit of having access to stored reservoir water.”

Service officials said the low streamflows will have major impacts on wildlife, recreation, city municipalities, power generation and agriculture.

Credit: USDA

The low streamflows were blamed primarily on record-low snowpack during the winter months, which also melted weeks earlier than normal. The “unprecedented” snowpack levels were the lowest in 40 years, and researchers said the only way extreme fire chances could be reduced was through a “major switch” in circulation patterns. So far, there’s nothing in season forecasts or weather models that indicate such a switch is on its way.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Unprecedented’ snow drought sets up extreme wildfires for Western US in 2026

“Unfortunately, this year in the West and southern tier, it has been very dry and very warm,” Physical Sciences Laboratory research meteorologist Andrew Hoell recently said. “We’re talking about some historically warm conditions and at the same time below average precipitation. That sets up the land surface to be able to burn.”

Hoell was the lead author of a recent study that found the “La Niña” and “El Niño” phases of a fluctuating water temperature climate pattern called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation act as accurate predictors of wildfire severity up to a year in advance. The pattern entered its La Niña phase last fall, and was followed by the historic snow drought and early spring heat wave, which created drier and more flammable fuels.

Click here to read the full study.

Historic Morrill Fire triggers Nebraska disaster request

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen on Friday requested President Donald Trump to issue a major disaster declaration related to the state’s historic Morrill Fire and other wildfires that burned 821,000 acres across the state between March and April.

Acceptance of the request would unlock federal funding for Nebraska to help repair roads, bridges, and power infrastructure damaged by the Morrill, Cottonwood, Ashby, and Minor fires. State and federal emergency managers have previously estimated that damage costs reached nearly $9.7 million.

“As Nebraska faced historic wildfires, the people of our state came together to jumpstart the recovery process,” Pillen said in a press release on Friday. “I’m submitting my request for a disaster declaration to the White House and FEMA. We appreciate President Trump’s attention to this matter and his long-standing support of our state when we have requested disaster recovery funding.”

An estimated 642,029 acres of the 821,000-acre total were from the Morrill Fire alone, which started on March 12. It went on to trigger numerous evacuations and the activation of agricultural irrigation systems in Morrill County.

The fire may have burned more if it weren’t for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s “Next Generation Fire System,” which was called a “game changer” by wildfire managers due to early warning capabilities and its up-to-the-minute data sharing.

“On March 12, the NGFS detection came in around 1:40 pm MT,” said Watch Duty Manager of Operational Intelligence and Mapping Liam Winstead. “At that stage, we did not have eyes on the ground or radio traffic to monitor. Within 10 minutes, additional NGFS detections showed the heat spreading rapidly in alignment with the wind, providing the confirmation that this was a fast-moving vegetation fire. We posted the incident and alerted the county just 13 minutes after the initial detection.”

The vast majority of the Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge also burned in the Morrill Fire. The refuge is located in the Nebraska Sandhills, which researchers have labeled the world’s most important intact prairie, as one of the last large native prairies that has not been substantially modified or converted to farmland.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Critically important prairie widely burned by Nebraska wildfire

“Since these fires, we’ve been blessed beyond measure to see the outpouring of support – and load after load of hay – cross county and state lines to support ranching families and communities in the Sandhills,” Pillen said. “Nebraskans are tough as nails, and we’ll get through this moment together.”

The Morrill Fire was declared the “largest wildfire in state history” by Gov. Jim Pillen and other local officials after it burned 460,000 acres two days after it started. Numerous news outlets, including Wildfire Today, then amplified the claim, but historians are pushing back against it.

At least one much larger fire burned off a major section of Nebraska and the Great Plains in 1865, and it was deliberately set by the U.S. Army to drive Native Americans out of a valley outside present-day Omaha, according to the Nebraska State Historical Society. 

READ MORE: It was big, but the Morrill Fire isn’t the largest wildfire in Nebraska’s history

Destructive wildfire types targeted under new US ‘BRUSH Fire Act’

A US bill aimed at improving officials’ understanding of wildfires in ecosystems dominated by small plants recently cleared its first congressional hurdle.

The Building Resiliency and Understanding of Shrublands to Halt Fires Act, or BRUSH Fires Act, was introduced by California Rep. Dave Min and seeks to modernize federal wildfire prevention policy, particularly in shrub-dominated regions.

The number of homes destroyed by wildfires has doubled over the past 30 years, with the majority of burned homes near shrublands rather than forests, according to a previous study led by University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers. While crown fires in forests have the highest fire intensity and can ignite homes far from a fire front, shrubland fires can easily spread rapidly during strong winds, threatening more homes faster. Fuels in shrublands also recover faster than in forests, meaning areas can reburn within a few years and lessen the impact of infrequent prescribed burning.

Min said his Bill seeks to address that disparity and unseat forests as the main focus of wildfires. The bill specifically requires the Forest Service to conduct a study on its current wildfire mitigation effectiveness in shrublands, including hazardous fuels management, limiting ember ignitions of structures, and administrative factors that impede wildland fire operations. A report on the study must be made publicly available 90 days after it is complete.

“Right now, federal wildfire policy too often treats all fires the same, even as many communities, particularly in Southern California, are increasingly threatened by fast-moving brushfires in chaparral landscapes rather than traditional forest fires,” Min said in a press release. “The bill fills a critical need to reassess prevention strategies for shrubland ecosystems, identify best practices, and ensure that land managers and local fire officials have access to clear science-based guidance.”

This Bill, according to Min, has the support of California fire chiefs and leaders across the fire management community, including The Nature Conservancy, California Fire Chiefs Association, California Chaparral Institute, Endangered Habitats League, and Irvine Ranch Conservancy. 

Click here to read the full bill’s text.

Southern states near peak fire resource allocations as ‘Wildfire Awareness Month’ kicks off

May has historically been the start of wildfire season across the United States, but the signifier rings hollow for numerous communities in southern states facing already strained fire resources.

Friday marked the first day of Wildfire Awareness Month, when federal, state, and local agencies focus on fire prevention, preparedness, and protecting what matters, the National Interagency Fire Center said in a press release on Friday. Saturday was “Wildfire Community Preparedness Day,” when the National Fire Protection Association offered resources to prepare and become “firewise” for the months ahead.

That preparedness came early for communities in the Center’s Southern Area, which runs from Texas as far east as Virginia. Ongoing wildfires in Florida and Georgia have already put the area’s fire resources at Preparedness Level 4 out of 5, meaning national resources are heavily committed and have caused significant resource demand in inactive or low activity geographic areas, according to the Center’s scale.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said during a recent press conference that the state is experiencing its worst drought in over 20 years, meaning fire resources will continue being needed for “quite a while.”

“Our wildfires are already above a five-year average … and we’re under a temporary burn ban statewide,” Kemp said. “It’s a matter of resources … We’ve got equipment coming from Texas, Mississippi, Colorado, and Idaho.”

The fires are likely an omen of what’s to come as the nation moves towards what forecasters expect to be a very active fire season, due to ongoing fire risk in the South and historic snow drought in the West. In the near term, a stalled cold front in the southeast is forecast to bring hot, dry, and breezy conditions across central and southern Florida, raising the ongoing risk of fires in the already resource-strained state.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Unprecedented’ snow drought sets up extreme wildfires for Western US in 2026

Fire burns down historic building at key fire research complex

A historic home at a world-leading fire research complex was consumed by a lightning fire on Tuesday and burnt to the ground.

The historic Beadel House, on the Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy complex near Tallahassee, Florida in the United States, was completely lost despite the efforts of the Tallahassee Fire Department. One firefighter was reportedly injured in the fire, according to station officials.

A severe storm caused a lightning strike on Beadel House, which contained many historical artefacts and four staff offices. Tall Timbers is a research, conservation and education organization focused on the role of fire and promoting prescribed burning.

The home was built in 1895 by Edward Beadel, a New York architect who frequented the area to hunt quail. The home’s second owner, Edward’s nephew Henry Beadel, was a naturalist who was one of the pioneers in popularizing the use of fire as a land management tool among European settlers of the U.S. Henry was also a noted nature photographer, and his photos were housed in the building.

Firefighters were able to remove a handful of artifacts before the home burned down, but the research station’s officials did not specify which artifacts were saved.

“If you would like to help Tall Timbers build back, online donations are open,” the research station posted on its website. “Your support will provide Tall Timbers with the funding to rebuild the facilities needed for our growing organization. For questions regarding giving please contact Development Director, Crystal Rice (850) 545-2162 or cdrice@talltimbers.org.”

The International Association of Wildland Fire’s 4th International Smoke Symposium, scheduled for March 23 – next week – at Tall Timbers, is in a different building and will continue as scheduled. The Association sent the following message to registered conference attendees:
 
This loss has shaken not only the Tall Timbers community, but the broader fire community as well. As we are gathering next week, we ask that you keep the Tall Timbers team in your thoughts as they navigate this difficult moment.
 
The event will continue as scheduled, and we appreciate your support, compassion, and solidarity during this time.

Los Angeles’ Palisades Fire suspect should be released on the basis of new evidence, defendants argue

The attorneys for the man accused of setting one of California’s most destructive wildfires are arguing he should be released due to a newly released deposition from a firefighter who was at the scene.

Law enforcement arrested 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht in Melbourne, Florida, on Oct. 8, suspecting he maliciously started the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles on New Year’s Day. Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said prosecutors believed Rinderknecht set the fire that would go on to kill 12 people and destroy more than 6,000 homes in the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

Rinderknecht’s defense attorneys have since argued he is being used as a scapegoat to detract from the LA Fire Department’s failure to fully extinguish the earlier blaze, according to reporting from the Associated Press. His attorneys’ calls intensified after an LA firefighter, in a newly released deposition, reported hot spots were still active at the fire’s original scene, contradicting testimony from a battalion chief who said all hot spots were out.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Police arrest suspected arsonist responsible for Los Angeles’ Palisades Fire

“This evidence calls into question not only the fundamental fairness for my client’s continued detention, but the very foundation of the charges themselves,” Rinderknecht’s attorney, Steve Haney, said in a statement to the AP. “This is not a case about an individual causing a fire. This is a case about government agencies failing to do their jobs.”

Rinderknecht pleaded not guilty to the charges last October. His next court date for the case is scheduled for April.

‘Unprecedented’ snow drought sets up extreme wildfires for Western US in 2026

Whitetail Fire South Dakota

It’s been 40 years since the United States’ western region has experienced this low of snowpack near winter’s end, setting the stage for what many fear will be an early and extreme peak wildfire season.

Much of the mountainous West is experiencing a snow drought due to drier-than-normal and warmer-than-normal winter weather, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Water and Climate Center. Recent heavy precipitation in the western states did little to reduce the deficit, as large amounts of snow fell in areas that were either not experiencing drought or were already far behind their usual snowpack levels.

“Below-average snow-water equivalency remains a concern in much of the West, even in drought-free areas such as the Sierra Nevada,” the Center said in its most recent weekly report. “According to the California Department of Water Resources, the Sierra Nevada snowpack contained an average snow-water equivalency of 16 inches—up about 6 inches from earlier in the month, but less than three-quarters of normal for late February. In much of Arizona, New Mexico, and Oregon, snow-water equivalency values were less than 50 percent of normal.”

RELATED: Burn scars in western US snow regions to further strain water supplies, research shows

The widespread snow drought increases the likelihood for extreme wildfires in numerous ways, according to Desert Research Institute Director Tim Brown. He and other fire weather experts expect much of the West to have significantly high wildland fire potential as we near the summer months.

“The snowpack can definitely drought-stress the vegetation from the reduced soil moisture,” Brown said during a water supply briefing for the National Integrated Drought Information System. “There may also be a feedback process where that drought stress also increases the atmospheric drying…that exacerbates what the fire outcome might look like.”

Listen to Brown’s presentation in the video below:

The only thing that could lessen the chance of extreme fires would be a “major switch” in circulation patterns that keeps things cool and moist, but there’s nothing in seasonal forecasts or weather models that would indicate that.

Not only does low snowpack worsen environmental conditions and increase the possibility of extreme fires, but it also limits the window to safely set prescribed burns during the spring.

“If the underlying conditions are much drier than usual, and then it’s also warm on top of that…that’s going to reduce the amount of prescribed fire activity and then that, in turn, could also increase the fire potential as we get more into the summer season,” Brown said.

Recent research backs up officials’ claims of wildfire severity being tied to low snowpack. A study out of the University of Toronto published in December found that longer snow-free durations increase the severity of extreme wildfires, with earlier snow disappearance correlating to increased wildfire ignitions and longer fire seasons, specifically in boreal forests.

“Although the consequences of climate change on snow cover have not been a major focus of wildfire research, our work highlights the importance of incorporating snow cover dynamics into future models of wildfire burn severity,” the researchers said. “Improved understanding of how snow dynamics affect burn severity will help inform resource allocation (e.g., funding, monitoring, personnel), fuel reduction, and forest management strategies to reduce the risk of high-severity wildfire and maintain forest ecosystem health and function.”

Wildfires trigger ‘Agriculture Emergency’ in Texas

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller declared an Agriculture Emergency on Wednesday, stemming from alleged devastating losses to farmers in the state from wildfires.

Large portions of the Texas Panhandle are facing “extremely critical” wildfire danger due to drought conditions, above average temperatures, and low relative humidity, according to the Texas Department of Emergency Management. Officials expect critical fire weather conditions to remain through the end of the week, with the Texas A&M Forest Service listing the state at Wildfire Preparedness Level 3, meaning wildfire activity is significant and frequent enough to possibly warrant help from other regions, agencies, or states.

Three active wildfires in the Panhandle, including the Lavender Fire, 8 Ball Fire, and Canadian Bridge Fire, have burned more than 21,350 acres. Firefighters have recently contained 12 other smaller wildfires.

Miller urged Texas farmers and food producers to take advantage of the State of Texas Agriculture Relief Fund, or STAR Fund, which assists in agriculture disaster recovery through private donations. He also called on eligible ranchers and agribusinesses to use the state’s free AgriStress & Hay and Feed hotlines.

“Texans always rise for neighbors in crisis,” Miller said in a press release on Wednesday. “Panhandle families are reeling from these fires, but Texas stands united. We are activating every tool to get our agriculture heroes back in action.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott also activated wildfire response resources and increased the readiness level of the state’s emergency operations center ahead of the forecasted critical wildfire danger. Resources included the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System of more than 250 state, local, and out-of-state firefighters, along with Blackhawk and Chinook firefighting helicopters from the Texas National Guard.

“Texas stands ready to deploy all necessary resources to thwart any wildfire threats in our state,” Governor Abbott said earlier this week. “I directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to deploy additional resources in preparation of potential wildfire danger this week. Texans are urged to create an emergency plan, heed the guidance of state and local officials, and limit any activites that can cause a spark to best keep themselves and loved ones safe.” 

US wildfire smoke kills over 20K people every year, report finds

McKinley Fire Alaska Parks highway

Around 24,000 people die in the United States annually due to wildfire smoke, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday.

Researchers from Harvard and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai noticed that most previous smoke research either focused exclusively on smoke’s acute impacts on human health or focused on specific timeframes rather than long-term effects. They instead looked into the association between annual exposure to fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke, which contains carcinogenic compounds and heavy metals, and county-level mortality in over 3,000 counties across the U.S, in the study funded by the National Institute of Health.

They found that wildfire smoke was responsible for ~24,100 deaths every year, with no evidence of a “safe” threshold of wildfire smoke exposure. The researchers also found that people with neurological diseases, like dementia or Parkinson’s, experienced the greatest increase in mortality when exposed to wildfire smoke. People with circulatory system illnesses, endocrine diseases and cancers saw the next highest increases.

“For all studied outcomes, the exposure-response curves generally showed an increasing trend as exposure levels rose, especially at higher exposure levels,” the researchers said in the study. “In addition, greater effects of wildfire smoke PM2.5 were observed in communities with a higher percentage of the population under 65 years old, in more rural areas, and during lower summer and winter temperatures.”

Previous research released in September estimated that the U.S. could see an additional 46,000 deaths annually by 2050. The additional deaths are primarily attributed to climate change, which is making already fire-prone regions in the U.S. hotter and drier.

“Because of the mortality effects we uncover at low annual smoke concentrations, we project large mortality burdens not only in heavy smoke regions but also in populous regions with low smoke concentrations (e.g., the eastern US),” the researchers said in the study published in September. “Similarly, we estimate substantial mortality increases even in the low warming scenario because of projected increases in low-level annual smoke concentration.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Wildfire smoke will kill more people in US, but where is up for debate