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A human-caused wildfire in May that burned one-third of Santa Rosa Island — an offshore wildlife oasis in Southern California's Channel Islands National Park – was the largest wildfire in the park's history. It devastated a critically endangered grove of Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine trees, which are some of the rarest pines in the world, according to recent federal damage assessments on the island.
Such small, isolated populations of rare plants are "extremely vulnerable" to destructive events like fire, Dustin Wolkis, the director of science and conservation at the nonprofit Center for Plant Conservation, told CNN.
"When you lose even just a little bit of genetic diversity, that can be catastrophic for the population," he said.
And the loss could have trickle-down effects on the island.
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📸: US Wildland Fire Service; Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images; Holly Huff/Santa Barbara Botanic Garden; Sasha Travaglio/Department of Interior, Burned Area Response (BAER) team
