Cleanup efforts are expected to continue at least through the weekend on a 29,000 gallon oil spill in the hills northeast of downtown Ventura.
The spill was discovered early Thursday morning by a Hall Canyon resident, who called for help. Ventura City and County firefighters helped confine the oil to a debris basin in a barranca, so it never got close to making its way to the ocean. Eric Laughlin, with the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, says about 100 people and five vacuum trucks are currently involved in cleanup efforts. He says they aren’t sure how long cleanup will take.
While the oil was confined to the barranca area, the terrain is rugged making it hard for cleanup crews to reach. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
Officials with Crimson Pipeline say the line was down for maintenance at the time of the accident, and that it was a problem with a valve which caused the spill. They say because the pipe wasn’t online, a spill alarm system wasn’t triggered.
