Fire crews battling the blaze inside Channel Islands National Park have already confirmed the destruction of at least three historic structures, including Johnson’s Lee Equipment Shed, a nearby storage building and the Wreck Line Camp Cabin.

Now attention is turning to the island’s fragile ecosystem, particularly the Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine, described by the National Park Service as “the rarest native pine in the United States” and “possibly, the rarest pine in the world.”

Initial damage assessments released Wednesday offered a small dose of relief: officials said the island’s Torrey pine groves “still exist and remain largely intact.”

But the update also warned that “some small pockets of the Torrey Pines did burn with higher intensity.”

It was not immediately known how many Torrey pines grow on the island, or whether damaged trees can be restored and if additional rare plant species suffered major losses in the fire.

According to the agency, the Santa Rosa Island Torrey pine is classified as a separate subspecies because of “thousands of years of isolation on Santa Rosa” and its extremely limited habitat range.

The fire is also threatening several rare and endangered plants unique to the island, including Santa Rosa Island Manzanita, Santa Rosa Island Live-forever, Hoffmann’s Gilia, Munchkin Dudleya and Island Tree Mallow.

Wildlife populations could also be at risk, including island foxes, island spotted skunks and island deer mice.

Investigators are examining whether the wildfire may have started after a stranded mariner used an SOS flare following a shipwreck.