A wildfire in the Channel Islands earlier this year is estimated to have devastated a rare tree subspecies.
Around 80% of Santa Rosa Island’s iconic Torrey pine trees may perish as a result of the largest wildfire in Channel Islands National Park’s history.
"It is devastating because these trees are special. This is a globally rare forest. And the fire hit them pretty hard," explained Ana Beatriz Cholo from the National Park Service.
Cholo says many of the mature trees can’t be saved and will take generations to recover — and the race is on to save the soil beneath them.
"So the fire's over, but the emergency isn't," said Cholo. "Our immediate priority is actually the ground beneath the trees. Those burned slopes are extremely vulnerable to erosion. But we're really in a race against the winter rains. And so if heavy winter rains wash away that topsoil, we lose something essential for the next generation of Torrey pines."
