A human-caused fire spread to more than 10,000 acres Sunday night on the south side of Santa Rosa Island, the second-largest of the Channel Islands.<\/p>\n
The fire<\/a> destroyed two structures \u2014 a cabin and an equipment shed \u2014 and forced the evacuation of 11 National Park Service employees, who were rescued<\/a> by a Santa Barbara County Fire Department helicopter.<\/p>\n As of Sunday night, 70 firefighters and park rangers were battling the fire, which is threatening six plant species native to the island that aren\u2019t found anywhere else in the world, according to the Channel Islands National Park Service. The island is also home to animals such as island foxes, spotted skunks and elephant seals.<\/p>\n The fire was first spotted by an aircraft Friday night and grew to more than 5,000 acres by Saturday night, according to Cal Fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n Smoke from the flames spread throughout the L.A. area on Sunday and was expected to drift throughout the region through Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you’ve smelled smoke today, you’re not imagining things. Smoke from the Santa Rosa Islands Fire has been drifting towards our region. The HRRR model shows near-surface smoke through at least Tuesday, assuming the fire continues. Track air quality at https:\/\/t.co\/0dhjz24tXS<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/hFlRD5rgS0<\/a><\/p>\n\n