Thousand Steps, Totuava Beaches Close For Fuel Spill Clean-Up

LAGUNA BEACH, CA —The rarified air of two county-run Laguna beaches was fouled Thursday, on the day that Orange County was allowed to reopen their beaches to activity. On Thursday, a leak from Mission Hospital Laguna Beach's generator fouled the beaches at Thousand Steps and Totuava beaches.

Friday morning, the air was thick with the smell of diesel as crews worked to clean over 2,000 gallons of spilled fuel from Mission Hospital's faulty generator.

The clean-up of that fuel could take "several days," authorities have said. Due to the isolated nature of the beaches, hazmat crews must pack fuel soaked sand into barrels, then transport them away by boat.

According to a Mission Hospital spokesperson, a generator fuel tank malfunctioned early Thursday morning, causing a leak.

"(The leak) was promptly detected and contained," Carrie Miller of Mission Hospital Laguna Beach said. "The malfunction was quickly repaired, generator power was restored, and there was no power lost to the hospital at any time."

Still, the damage was done to area beaches.

The inaccessibility of the beaches by vehicle makes it necessary to transport fuel-soaked sand by boat, according to authorities.

Laguna Beach Battalion Chief Crissy Teichmann said the leak went into a gutter, then a storm drain, and ultimately to the shore.

"It looked like 300 gallons pooled on the sand, and the rest seeped somewhere," Teichmann told the Orange County Register.

The clean-up is a cooperative effort by OC Parks, Orange County Health Care Agency, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Laguna Beach Fire and Lifeguards.

Mission Hospital invoked the clean-up efforts immediately, according to Miller."Like everyone in Laguna Beach, we treasure our coastline and are committed to a thorough clean-up."

Both Thousand Steps and Totuava Beaches are closed until further notice.