Update: The oil slick from the Refugio pipeline rupture is headed towards Coal Oil Point Reserve, home to twenty-five nesting pairs of Western Snowy Plovers, a threatened shorebird under the Endangered Species Act. Governor Brown has declared a state of emergency and volunteers have begun cleaning fouled wild creatures.
{23.05.15}Not since the Santa Barbara oil spill in '69 caused by a well blowout has there been a spill as damaging as the one that hit Refugio State Beach this week. A pipeline installed in 1987 ruptured spilling 105,000 gallons of crude on Tuesday. The Coast Guard said oil slicks extend for nine miles. The pipe is owned by Plains All American Pipeline of Houston and is part of a network centered in Kern County. Fishing and shellfish harvesting have been suspended for a mile either side of Refugio Beach, a popular recreation site. The area is rich in wildlife including sea lions, shorebirds, and migrating whales.