[ad_1]
The US Coast Guard, working with local and state agencies, flew planes to assess the spill and hired contractors to clean it up.
A major oil spill off the California coast began to run aground at Huntington Beach over the weekend after an oil rig pipeline ruptured, leaving dead fish and birds strewn on the sand local and federal officials said.
An estimated 570,000 liters (126,000 gallons) have spilled over into an oil slick covering about 30 square kilometers (13 square miles) of the Pacific Ocean since it was first reported on Saturday, according to Katrina Foley , the Orange County Supervisor.
“The impact on the environment is irreversible,” she said in a statement. She said the spill was caused by a breach connected to the Elly oil rig and stretched from the Huntington Beach Pier to Newport Beach, a part of the coast south of Los Angeles that is popular with surfers and bathers.
On Sunday, Foley said oil had seeped into Talbert Marsh, a large ecological reserve, causing “significant damage”.
The smell of petroleum permeated the air throughout the region. “You get the taste in your mouth just from the vapors in the air,” she said.
Beaches have been closed to swimming and a local air show has been canceled, although some people were not dissuaded from setting up chairs on the beach to enjoy a sunny Sunday or stroll along the beach. pier.
Huntington Beach officials said they have deployed booms to prevent oil from spilling into the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and Huntington Beach Wetlands.
The US Coast Guard, working with local and state agencies, flew planes to assess the spill and hired contractors to clean it up.
Officials said they were investigating the cause of the spill and the type of oil involved.
[ad_2]
Source link