- A leak from a break in a rig was detected about 5 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach on Saturday.
- At least 126,000 gallons of oil has been released into the ocean and is now washing up on shore.
- It is believed to be one of the largest oil spills in California history.
A massive oil spill in California is killing wildlife and expected to close some beaches for months.
“We already have reports of dolphins being seen swimming through the oil slick. They can’t get away from it quickly. And now it has reached land,” Heal the Bay CEO Shelley Luce told KTLA. “This is a toxic spill. And many, many animals are going to die. And many more than we can count, because they will occur at sea.”
A leak from a break in the rig dubbed “Elly” was detected about 5 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach on Saturday, releasing at least 126,000 gallons of oil into the ocean that is now washing up on shore. It is believed to be one of the largest oil spills in California history.
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“I don’t expect it to be more,” Amplify Energy CEO Martyn Willsher said at Sunday’s news conference. “That’s the capacity of the entire pipeline.”
As the oil has spread and made its way to shore, its effects on wildlife are already being noted.
“Oil has washed up now onto the HB beachfront,” Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley tweeted. “We’ve started to find dead birds & fish washing up on the shore.”
Officials are expecting the affected beaches to be closed for months due to severity of the environmental impact.
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