Crews responding to oil spill near Casmalia

Emergency crews responded to an oil spill in the area of 5080 Black Road west of Orcutt and north of Casmalia, near a Greka oil facility Tuesday afternoon.

The incident was reported just after 3 p.m. Approximately 20-30 barrels of crude oil were initially reported as having been spilled. However, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department has now said only 3-5 barrels were spilled.

Santa Barbara County road crews working in the area struck a Greka oil pipeline and breached it, Santa Barbara County Fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni said.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, oil was spilling out of the pipeline to the roadway, and into a culvert and the nearby railroad tracks.

Greka personnel were quick to shut down the pipeline. Fire crews stopped the spread of oil into the surrounding areas. The railroad company was also notified but no train services were shut down.

A HAZMAT team was called out to the scene along with a fire investigator to assist with the incident. Santa Barbara County Fire crews will remain on scene to help with cleanup.