Oil spill emergency drill tests first responders in Goleta

Emergency crews were in the water and on land Wednesday testing their response to an oil spill at Goleta Beach.

The drill involved jet skies, an inflatable and over 1000 feet of the floating boom used to circle an oil spill and keep it from spreading.

Deploying it is a careful operation to keep it ahead of the currents, the moving spill and to rapidly protect sensitive areas.

Special trailers with the emergency gear have been provided by the state in Goleta and Gaviota .

” Everything in the trailer is ready for the first responders the minute the spills happen, ” said Mike Caliguire with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. ” We have a thousand feet of boom out there in each trailer. So we are able to do disconnect and take 500 feet and move 500 feet up the beach and another 500 feet lower. ” everything in the trailer is ready for the first responders the minute the spills happen, ” said Mike Caliguire with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

He helped to instruct the crews on where to anchor the boom, and utilize it for the most effectiveness.

The location was down the coast from the devastating 2015 Refugio oil pipeline break that damaged miles of coastline and killed both sea life and shore birds.

Agencies participating besides Fish and Wildlife included the U.S. Coast Guard, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District.

KEYT 2019