Is Orange County Oil Spill Smaller Than Originally Thought?

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA — As over 800 oil clean-up experts work to remove oil out of the waters and shores of Orange County beaches, officials speculated that the minimum amount of crude oil released into the ocean could be as low as 24,696 gallons and as high as roughly 131,000 gallons Thursday.

U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Rebecca Ore said in a news conference the latter number was based on the volume of the sea-floor pipeline that leaked crude oil into OC waters.

The 131,000-gallon figure is considered a worst-case scenario in what could be one of the worst oil spills in modern California history.

"We are working on a precise estimate, but right now, just based on the calculations of the five agencies that reviewed and verified, the minimum release number is the number we have right now," Ore said. "I would expect that number to change, but I don't expect it to change significantly. We just know that as a minimum, that amount of oil was released into the environment."

So far, workers have scooped about 5,000 gallons of oil out of the water, in addition to the tarballs and patties on the beach, Ore said.

Since Friday, the oil spill has devastated Orange County's coastal communities, resulting in beach closures across the county as crews scrambled to place protective boom around sensitive wetlands and skim ocean waters for oil. Representatives with Oiled Wildlife Care Network said rescue teams have collected 29 oiled wildlife since Friday.

Of those 29, five were recovered dead as of late Wednesday. The dead birds include an American coot, a western gull and three double-crested cormorants. They were found dead on the beaches, covered in oil. The team in Huntington Beach also collected four oiled snowy clovers, a federally threatened species, who were still alive.

Despite efforts, Ore reported that tarballs had been seen washing up on beaches as far as Oceanside in San Diego County.

Amplify Energy Corp., the company claiming responsibility for the oil spill, did not have representatives present at Thursday's news conference. Authorities at the conference stated that Amplify would release a statement sometime Thursday afternoon.

Officials have established a phone line for claims from residents or businesses affected by the spill. Anyone with a claim was asked to call 866-985-8366 and use "Pipeline P00547" as a reference. Residents were asked to refrain from trying to rescue any oiled animals, but to instead report injured wildlife by calling 877-823-6926, or 877-UCD-OWCN.

Interested volunteers must take a four-hour course to train for clean-up efforts and wear special personal protective equipment.

Anyone interested can get more details at Cal Spill Watch's website or by calling 800-228-4544.

City News Service contributed to this report.