The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating an oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach in Orange County, with initial estimates of an oil sheen visible on the surface of the water stretching about two miles wide, officials said Friday.
County Supervisor Don Wagner’s office confirmed by phone that “details are scant,” but officials have confirmed that the oil sheen visible about 1.5 miles off the coast is not from natural causes.
Wagner and her colleague Supervisor Katrina Foley both tweeted about the incident Friday morning to their constituents.
“Early thoughts are that it’s from a platform,” Foley stated online at 8:05 a.m. “Initial estimates are about 2 miles wide,” Wagner stated on the social media platform X at 9:05 a.m. “Emergency personnel are on scene and working to identify the source.”
In a phone interview with the Times, Foley said that officials were alerted Thursday night of a potential leak near an offshore oil rig but were only able to confirm a spill early Friday.
The city of Huntington Beach has not announced any beach closures, but mariners have received a safety alert to stay out of the area.
A county emergency response team is currently on the water assessing the situation, according to Foley’s office.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is involved in trying to determine if this is an active spill, state Sen. Dave Min said in a statement.
Gov. Gavin Newsom commented on the social media platform X that state officials “are actively monitoring” the situation in collaboration with “local, state and federal partners.”
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