An oil spill estimated to be 21,000 gallons (79,000 liters) caused by a rupture pipeline in southern California coastline on Tuesday formed a slick into the Pacific Ocean that stretched for miles near Santa Barbara County beach.
Around 3:45 p.m., the fouling leak that has originated from west of Santa Barbara after a pipeline ruptured turned into a spill that had left about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) of oil spreading approximately 50 yards (46 meters) into the ocean waters along Refugio State Beach in Goleta, according to Andrea Anderson, a Coast Guard Petty Officer.
Santa Barbara County Fire Department first acquired the report about a smell of gas in the area that turned out to be a leak at 11:42 a.m. (2:42 p.m. ET), and the Coast Guard crews stopped the leak at three o'clock in the afternoon, Anderson added.
The Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management identified Houston- based Plains All American Pipeline as the responsible party, according to an official statement.
Plains All America Pipeline has been operating the 24-inch (61 centimeters) ruptured pipeline and it runs along the Santa Barbara coast near Highway 101, according to US Coast Guard officials.
State, local and federal officials have arrived at the scene to examine the source of the leak and organize cleanup efforts, confirmed Alexia Retallack, a representative for the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response.
It is uncertain what kind of oil had been flowing through the pipeline.
Coast Guard authorities projected that during the several-hours-long leak, about 21,000 gallons escaped into the ocean. Local and state officials have refused to make an estimation of how much of the oil leaked, and stated it could take a number of days to determine exactly how much oil spilled.
"Everyone would like a number, but we can't provide one we're comfortable with," Retallack stated.
County emergency crews and teams from the U.S. Coast Guard and California state parks were working to contain and clean up the spill, according to Capt. Dave Zaniboni, spokesperson of Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
Exxon Mobil has a number of operations close to the broken pipeline and has organized crews to offer cleanup support, said Richard Keil, the company spokesperson.
Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management has temporarily closed Refugio State Beach in response to the spill, and posted a warning regarding the spill at nearby El Capitan State Beach, according to the county emergency officials.
The pipeline company could not be immediately reached for an official statement.
