Orange County Oil Spill: Photos As Ocean Cleanup Ensues

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA —An oil spill that caused the closure of most Orange County beaches Sunday and Monday—leading to the cancellation of the Pacific Air Show in Huntington Beach— is not expected to be resolved quickly, officials say.

The Coast Guard, California Fish and Wildlife and Amplify Energy are working in a unified command to curtail the oil from the almost 130,000-gallon spill. How the oil spill started and when it will end remains under investigation as of this report.

Even still, the oil is likely to continue to wash up on the shore in several communities for days, officials said.

Cleanup crews worked out at sea and along the coast to get a handle on the slimy water. Boats deployed floating booms to catch oil along the ocean's surface.

Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said the city’s beaches could remain closed for weeks or even months.

This incident is by far one of the largest oil spills in recent memory that has hit Orange County shores.

Patches of an oil spill washed onto the beach south of the Pier in Huntington Beach and led to the closure of the popular Pacific Air Show. The beach closure stretched from the Huntington Beach Pier nearly 4 miles south to the Santa Ana River jetty amid summerlike weather.

Surfers, swimmers, paddleboarders were removed from the waves and likewise, volleyball players and sunbathers were told to depart the beaches as the fouling slick arrived onshore.

Closed beaches include:

• Seal Beach / Sunset Beach
• Huntington Beach
• All Laguna Beaches

The oil erupted from a line off the coast between Long Beach and Newport Beach, officials say. Now, as the spill reaches the shoreline, cleanup crews work to collect oil and further stop the incursion into the wetlands off Bolsa Chica preserve.

Cleanup contractors deployed skimmers and floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further oil crude incursion into the Wetlands Talbert Marsh in Huntington Beach on Sunday.

Still, there are accounts of oiled wildlife being found along shore of the marsh and on beaches.

One of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

Meanwhile, cleanup contractors are racing to control the damage caused by the massive spill. Crews were seen collecting oil in plastic bags trying to stop further oil crude incursion into the Wetlands Talbert Marsh in Huntington Beach Sunday. One of the largest oil spills in recent Southern California history fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands.

Lifeguards closed the beach after the oil spill in Huntington Beach, with a full Orange County beach closure stretching from the Huntington Beach Pier nearly 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) south to the Santa Ana River jetty. Laguna Beach also closed the beaches in anticipation of the spill.

Yellow caution tape was strung between lifeguard towers to keep people away.

Orange County beaches were closed Tuesday, and members of the public were asked to avoid assisting with the cleanup in the oiled areas, according to Orange County Health Care Agency.

Pelicans were seen flying over the beach after the oil spill as sealife and marine birds began to suffer the damage of exposure to oil.

Vessels with the Marine Spill Response Corporation, an oil spill removal organization, set out to deploy floating barriers around the oil spills to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands, Sunday.

"Trained spill response contractors are working to clean up the oil," spokeswoman Molly Nichelson said. "Public volunteers are not requested at this time, but information can be found at Cal Spill Watch's volunteer information website.

If you encounter oiled wildlife, please avoid contact and call the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at 877-823-6926.

Read more:

OC Oil Spill Fouls Wildlife: 'Potential Ecologic Disaster'