As oil spill cleanup and recovery continues off the coast of Orange County, the main focus of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network is saving affected wildlife.
In a press conference on Monday, veterinarian Michael Ziccardi, who runs the Network, said they were working with the California Fish and Wildlife Department to mitigate the spill’s impact on local birds and marine life.
Ziccardi said once the oil spill occurred, they deployed field teams immediately up and down the county coast to look for any animals that might be covered in oil not in the general spill area.
He said they’ve tried to collect as many affected birds as they can.
“So to date we have collected three live oiled birds—one brown pelican, one American coot and one ruddy duck,” Ziccardi said. “Unfortunately, the brown pelican had chronic injuries that required us to humanely euthanize it yesterday.”
He added that there have been sightings of additional oiled gulls and that they are working on using other methods to located and rescue the birds.
It’s estimated that at least 126,000 gallons of oil leaked from a rig around five miles off Huntington Beach on Saturday.
Crews have deployed skimmers and floating barriers as a way to stop more oil from reaching the beaches and marshes. It’s believed str beaches could remain closed for weeks, possibly months.
To report wildlife concerns, residents are encouraged to call the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at (877) 823-6926.
For any general oil spill questions, residents can call the Huntington Beach Oil Spill Hotline at (714) 374-1702.