Major oil spill fouls beaches

HUNTINGTON BEACH » One of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history fouled popular beaches that could end up closed for months as crews scrambled Sunday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

Divers were trying to determine where and why the leak occurred, but the flow of oil was stopped late Saturday from the pipeline that runs under the ocean off Huntington Beach, according to the head of the company that operates the line.

At least 126,000 gallons of crude spilled into the waters off Orange County starting late Friday or early Saturday when boaters began reporting a sheen in the water, officials said.

“I don’t expect it to be more. That’s the capacity of the entire pipeline,” said Amplify Energy CEO Martyn Willsher.

He said the pipeline was suctioned out and dozens of nearby oil platforms operated by Amplify were shut down.

It was one of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history, fouling the strand in Huntington Beach, the town known as Surf City USA. Crews scrambled to contain the crude before it spread farther into protected wetlands.

Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said the city’s famous beaches could remain closed for weeks or even months.

The oil created a mileswide sheen in the ocean and washed ashore in sticky, black globules.

Some birds and fish were caught in the muck and killed, said Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley. But the U.S. Coast Guard said there was a report of just one ruddy duck that was covered in oil and receiving veterinary care. “Other reports of oiled wildlife are being investigated,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Crews led by the Coast Guard deployed skimmers and some 3,700 feet of floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further incursion into areas including Talbert Marsh, a 25acre wetland in Huntington Beach, officials said.

RINGO H.W. CHIU — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A woman takes a picture of oil washed up on Huntington Beach, Calif., on Sunday.