SAN DIEGO — A large oil spill that was affecting Orange County beaches Sunday was not expected to reach the San Diego coast, the National Weather Service in San Diego said. However, some of the wildlife affected might end up at SeaWorld San Diego.
The possibility of the spill -- which was affecting beaches from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach -- reaching San Diego "looks rather low," NWS forecaster Brant Maxwell told City News Service.
He said winds were light along the coast, although at times Sunday night there might be a hint of northwest winds that could reach 5 mph.
The 126,000-gallon oil spill from an offshore rig was causing major ecological damage in the waters off Huntington Beach, where officials closed the area to beachgoers.
The U.S Coast Guard was leading the response to the spill, which covers about 5.8 nautical miles between the Huntington Beach Pier and Newport Beach. The spill emanated from a facility operated by Beta Offshore several miles off the coast, and was likely caused by a pipeline leak.
SeaWorld in San Diego said it has staff members on standby, ready to help with recovery efforts when needed. SeaWorld is a part of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.
”The oil will kill them, kill the animals," said Kim Peterson, who has worked on animal rescue and recovery projects for 22 years. "There’s no doubt about it. The birds that are affected. They can't hunt for their food. They can’t thermoregulate. The oil is toxic. They try to preen it off their feathers and they won’t survive. The oil is caustic. It will burn turtles. It will burn dolphins.”
Peterson said staff members at an 8,000-square-foot facility at SeaWorld train for specific situations like this.
”We have been trained to wash them and then stabilize them and return them to health to return back to the wild," said Peterson.
Once needed, staff members will collect blood and oil samples from the animals. In this case, Peterson said it will likely be sea turtles and dolphins. They also lay down soft mats to help animals that aren't used to walking on hard surfaces like humans are.
How long an animal stays in SeaWorld's care for recovery depends on a number of different factors. Peterson said sea turtles could potentially stay there until next summer until the ocean temperature is warm enough to release them back into the Pacific Ocean.
Many animals lose weight if they survive oil spills.
”Depending on the species of animal, it could be a few hours to several days before the animal is actually washed off -free of the oil," said Peterson.
Peterson also noticed that animal recovery operations are a result of teamwork between several organizations.
Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said the spill was reported at about 9 a.m. Saturday and drew a response from all levels of government.
Carr described the situation as a "potential ecologic disaster," and said some of the oil had reached the shore and was impacting the Talbert Marshlands and the Santa Ana River Trail.
Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Huntington Beach, sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Sunday requesting a major disaster declaration for Orange County.
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