State officials investigate large oil slick off Summerland shore
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – State officials are looking into a large oil slick that appeared in the water roughly two miles off the shore in Summerland on Friday.
OSPR crew investigating report of a sheen off Summerland Beach in #SantaBarbaraCounty, in coordination with Santa Barbara County Fire Department & @CAStateLands.
— CDFW Spill Prevention & Response (@CalSpillWatch) January 7, 2023
No oiled wildlife observed at this time but @oiledwildlife notified and remains on standby.
Santa Barbara's Heal the Ocean and the State Lands Commission were notified about the problem.
A State Lands Commission official said experts are trying to determine if the sheen is coming from an oil leak or natural seepage, and confirmed that it's coming from an area with "very active seeps."
Areas along the south coast were heavily impacted by this week's storm, but it is unclear if that includes a section of old, near-shore oil wells off Summerland.
Heal the Ocean captured areal footage of the scene:
This is a developing story, more information will be provided as updates come into the station.
UPDATE: A U. S. Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco helicopter crew surveyed the estimated 1.5 to 2 mile long sheen that reaches about 5 nautical miles off Summerland Beach in their MH-65 Dolphin helicopter on Jan. 7.
On Jan. 6 at 2:34 p.m., U. S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Santa Barbara was alerted to the oil sheen by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services and began coordinating with partner agencies and the National Response Center.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife report that no wildlife have been discovered directly harmed by this oil spill, but investigations of the environmental impact will continue as part of the coordinated response.
