HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (KNX) — An oily sheen spotted off the coast of Orange County may have been residue from a crude oil spill last month, according to state officials. The spill sent roughly 26,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean, producing a massive oil slick that washed ashore from Huntington Beach to Dana Point.
Estimated to be 30-by-70 feet in diameter, the sheen was first reported shortly before 9 a.m. on Saturday. Dive teams carrying out an inspection of the damaged portion of the pipeline later found “small droplets of oil” coming from it, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said.
The U.S. Coast Guard initiated several flyovers of the area where the sheen was reported. But flights on Saturday and Sunday afternoon did not identify further evidence of residual oil on the ocean surface.
California officials said no wildlife was affected by the sheen seen Saturday, and believe it had dissipated.
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