Marine wildlife threatened due to major oil spill in California

A massive oil spill on Huntington Beach in Southern California has killed some birds, including fish. About 18 sq km area has been affected by the leak. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has ordered the closure of fishing in the affected area.

Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said the beach could be closed for several months following the death of fish and birds. This incident is a big loss to the environment. Due to this the life of wildlife has also come in danger. At present the affected area is being cleaned.

California’s state and local agencies are working with the Coast Guard to clear the affected area. Local Senator Michelle Steele wrote a letter to President Biden after visiting there, asking that this incident in Orange County be declared a disaster.

In how much area did the leak happen?

• 3 thousand barrels (126,000 gallons) of oil spread over 13 square miles of the Pacific Ocean
• Damage to a beach town about 40 miles (65 km) to the south
• Large numbers of fish and birds were killed.

A group of US House of Representatives and California senators have called for an end to offshore drilling, two days after a major oil spill incident near Orange County.

The spill was first reported on 2 October resulting from a pipeline running from the Port of Long Beach to an offshore oil platform called Elly.

By Monday the failure caused about 126,000 gallons of oil to go into the sea, creating a slick that spanned about 8,320 acres. The spill has left oil along long stretches of sand in Newport Beach, Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach, killing fish and birds and threatening wetlands.

Oil from the spill, hailed by local officials as an environmental catastrophe, is moving south toward sensitive trenches around Laguna Beach on Monday.