Efforts continue to contain 4,200 barrels of oil spilled into Cuyama River after tanker crash
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. - Santa Barbara County firefighters are working with US Fish and Wildlife to contain about 4,200 barrels of oil that were spilled into the Cuyama River after an oil tanker crashed Saturday morning.
SB County Fire said they worked with Fish & Wildlife through the night to build two underflow dams in an effort to contain the oil.
A video posted by County Fire shows how the oil is being separated from the downstream flow of the river.
Vacuum trucks are on now on the scene working to skim the oil off the river.
California Highway Patrol said cleanup may continue for the next two weeks.
Around 6 a.m. on Saturday, an oil tanker overturned while traveling on Highway 166, just 20 miles from the US 101.
The tanker, which was holding 6,000 gallons of crude oil, rolled down the embankment to the creek bed of the Cuyama River and spilled over half of its load into the water.
From there, the oil flowed downstream toward the Twitchell Dam.
