California’s famed ‘Surf City USA’ beach reopens after oil spill

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — Surfers and swimmers returned to the waves Monday at a popular Southern California beach that was shut for more than a week after an undersea pipeline leaked crude oil into the ocean.

The reopening of Huntington Beach — dubbed “Surf City USA” — came far sooner than many expected after a putrid smell blanketed the coast and blobs of crude began washing ashore.

City and state park officials decided to reopen the shoreline in Huntington Beach after water quality tests revealed no detectable levels of oil-associated toxins in the ocean. That was good enough for Andrew Boyack, a 54-year-old commercial photographer, who usually surfs the waves in his hometown three or four times a week but has stayed out since the spill.

“There’s lots of guys out, so I figure it’s probably alright, and I guess they tested it,” Boyack said, while rinsing off at an outdoor beach shower.

“It’s exercise. It’s like, you know, if somebody was a jogger or something. We surf every morning.”

This surf-loving city of 200,000 people and nearby coastal communities have been reeling from the spill. The ocean has been closed, a popular air show canceled, fisheries shuttered and local shops have been walloped. The environmental impact on sensitive wetland habitats has been less severe than initially feared, but advocates say they are concerned about the long-term effects of the spill.

The shoreline in nearby Newport Beach also was reopened Monday after water quality testing revealed no unhealthful levels of oil-related toxins, said John Pope, a city spokesman.

Coast Guard officials said a pipeline owned by Houstonbased Amplify Energy that shuttles crude from offshore platforms to the coast leaked at least about 25,000 gallons and no more than 132,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean.

The spill was confirmed on Oct. 2, a day after residents reported a petroleum smell in the area. Officials have said the cause remains under investigation, and they believe the pipeline was likely damaged by a ship’s anchor several months to a year before it ruptured.

On an overcast Monday, a handful of people played volleyball and residents walked, jogged and biked on a path along the beach. Surfers in wetsuits jogged to the shore carrying their boards, eager to return to the waves, some after being shooed away over the weekend by lifeguards on jet skis.

Still, there were far fewer people in the ocean than usual, said Sean Rinehart, a 49-year-old surf instructor and chef from Huntington Beach. Rinehart headed out to surf but said he decided not to go in after the smell of dead fish near the pier gave him pause. The last time he surfed was Oct. 2, when he said he wound up in an oil slick. His skin, even now, is still itching, he said.