Huntington Beach’s mayor was joined by several public officials Saturday evening to discuss what is being classified as a “major oil spill” that made landfall from an offshore oil rig, prompting beach closures.
Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said that the spill of 3,000 barrels’ worth of oil — about 126,000 gallons — was reported about 9 a.m. Saturday and drew a response from all levels of government and that a unified command was established to handle this environmental crisis.
Carr described the situation as a “potential ecologic disaster,” and said that some of the oil had reached the shore and was impacting the Talbert Marshlands and the Santa Ana River Trail.
Among steps taken by the unified command was to place at least a thousand feet of booms in the water to try to block additional oil from coming ashore and entering the harbor and marshlands around Huntington Beach.
Incident commander Eric McCoy of the Huntington Beach Fire Department Marine Safety Division said they had conducted fixed-wing surveillance of the spill and rolled out their 2019 oil spill recovery plans to attack the slick.
The city of Huntington Beach announced a water closure between Beach Boulevard and Brookhurst Street. Meanwhile, officials believed oil would soon come ashore in Newport Beach.
Carr announced that the city was playing host to an estimated 1.5 million people on Saturday, the first day of an air show, which was scheduled to continue on Sunday. However, a decision will be made that morning to determine whether the show should go on or be canceled.
The unified command issued a statement, saying it had been “established to respond to an oil spill reported to be approximately 13 square miles in size, three miles off the coast of Newport Beach.”
The statement said the command consisted of the U.S. Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (CDFW-OSPR), and was being supported by the cities of Long Beach, Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, as well as the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and Beta Offshore.
Beta Offshore is a Southern California oil producer involved in the operation, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“Workers moved to shut down the pipeline and used pressurized equipment to retrieve as much oil as possible soon after the incident was reported at 12:18 p.m., Kate Conrad of Beta Offshore told the Times.
According to the statement from the unified command, “The Coast Guard received an initial report of an oil sheen off the coast of Newport Beach Saturday at approximately 9:10 a.m.” It also said the Coast Guard and Huntington Beach Police Department dispatched aircraft to access the situation and the CDFW-OSPR was monitoring for oiled wildlife.
Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Laguna Beach, praised the unified command’s quick response and thanked the team that would be working around the clock to clean up and protect the health and safety of local residents.
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley — who represents the impacted cities of Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and Seal Beach — said the damage from the spill could be irreversible. She said that the beaches and marshlands are “part of our heritage” and draw countless numbers of people to the shore.
Health officials warned people not to swim, surf or exercise by the beach because of the potential health hazards, including toxic fumes, which also threaten marine life and other wildlife.
The unified command said the public was being asked to avoid any oiled areas. Trained spill response contractors were cleaning up the disaster. “Public volunteers are not needed and could hinder response efforts. We request that members of the public stay away from the area.” Anyone who encounters oiled wildlife, was cautioned, “Do not approach,” instead, call the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at 1-877-823-6926.
The cause of the spill, exact volume and type of oil were being investigated.