Cleanup crews along Southern California's coast deployed skimmers and attempted to corral oil-slicked ocean waters in booms while wildlife experts scrambled to protect birds and fish from an enormous oil spill that threatened to close beaches for months.
, and her city's beaches could be closed for monthsFoley said dead birds and fish washed up on the shore, and oil "infiltrated the entirety" of some wetlands.
“This is just the latest tragedy of the oil industry," said Jackie Savitz, chief policy officer at Oceana. "The reality of our reliance on oil and gas is on full display here. This is the legacy of the fossil fuel age." From the coast, he and his friends could see the platform that connects the oil pipeline suspected of leaking hundreds of thousands of gallons.
"There was some dolphin on our bow, and it was beautiful," Avery said. "We went into this patch of oil that was, you know, very extensive and pretty thick. And it was shocking." On its website, Beta Offshore says it is one of the largest oil producers in Southern California, operating three offshore platforms 12 miles south of Long Beach.