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Clean-Up Continues After Santa Barbara Oil Spill

Published May 21, 2015 at 1:06 PM EDT
Crews clean oil from the beach at Refugio State Beach on May 20, 2015 north of Goleta, California. About 21,000 gallons spilled from an abandoned pipeline on the land near Refugio State Beach, spreading over about four miles of beach within hours. The largest oil spill ever in U.S. waters at the time occurred in the same section of the coast where numerous offshore oil platforms can be seen, giving birth to the modern American environmental movement. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Crews clean oil from the beach at Refugio State Beach on May 20, 2015 north of Goleta, California. About 21,000 gallons spilled from an abandoned pipeline on the land near Refugio State Beach, spreading over about four miles of beach within hours. The largest oil spill ever in U.S. waters at the time occurred in the same section of the coast where numerous offshore oil platforms can be seen, giving birth to the modern American environmental movement. (David McNew/Getty Images)

Officials say as many as 105,000 gallons of oil have spilled from a ruptured pipeline along the Santa Barbara coast, and around 21,000 gallons of that is believed to have made it into the waterways.

California Governor Jerry Brown yesterday declared a state of emergency because of the spill, and biologists are working on beaches to try to save wildlife from the oil.

Officials say a clean up effort is now ongoing for 24 hours a day. Lance Orozco of KCLU joins Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson with details.

Note: This story has been updated to include the total estimated size of the oil spill, in addition to the amount of oil believed to have made it into the waterways.

Guest

  • Lance Orozco, news director at KCLU in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

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