126,000 Gallon Oil Spill Across Orange County Coastline Causes Beaches to Close, Cancel an Air Show

An oil spill from an offshore rig across led to a six-mile-wide leak through the Orange County coastline last weekend that caused beaches to close.

A Forbes report said this leak of 126,000 gallons of oil that possibly started on Friday when workers discovered strong odors has also caused the cancellation of an air show.

Yesterday morning, dead fish and birds found covered in oil were reported to have washed the shore. City officials at Huntington Beach said the oil spill has substantially impacted the said beach, with considerable ecological effects taking place at the beach and the Huntington Beach Wetlands.

The leak originally came from a broken pipeline connected to one of the many drilling rigs off the coast of Huntington Beach, also known as "Elly."

It is operated by Beta Operating Company and Amplify Energy Corp. However, strangely enough, the rig or pipeline's owner was unknown at first. The pipeline has been shut off since and had its remaining oil suctioned out.

The Oil Spill

Approximately 3,000 barrels worth of oil has been leaked into the ocean, reaching the volume of a Southern California spill from 2015 off Santa Barbara that verged as well on being an environmental catastrophe.

In addition, in this circumstance, the oil has reached crucial wetlands that offer habitat to various species. According to Katrina Foley, Orange County Supervisor, the oil has penetrated the whole of the Talbert Wetlands. She added, there are substantial effects on wildlife there.

Oil leaks can have an extensive and long-lasting environmental effect. For instance, oil can bring suffocation to animals, but its presence on bird feathers can stop them from flying.

Furthermore, animals can lose their capability of regulating or controlling their body temperature, which can be particularly challenging in the coastal zone where the tide is ebbing and flowing. Simply too, breathing in or inhaling toxic fumes from the oil can be hazardous.

Clean-Up Initiatives

According to a Gizmodo report, as clean-up initiatives continue, officials closed off an almost four-mile stretch of oceanfront from the "Huntington Beach pier to the Santa Ana River" breakwater over the weekend.

As part of the effort, the last day of the Pacific Airshow slated for Sunday was also cancelled. The said event kicked off Friday and drew approximately 1.5 million people to the pier and coastline around on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard, which assists the state and county emergency response staff, has declared the occurrence a major spill.

City officials said on Sunday, Crews have set out more than 2,000 feet of protective booms at seven wetland sites.

A similar Insider report specified that Huntington Beach authorities said in a public advisory via Twitter that while the spill has not been completely stopped, initial patching has been completed to repair the oil spill site, with additional fixings planned.

In a press conference, Huntington Beach mayor Kim Carr said they have been working with the federal, state, and county alliances to control the effect that could be a possible environmental catastrophe.

The oil spill on the Orange County coast was reported on ABC7's YouTube video:

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