A roughly 4-mile swath of beach in Long Beach remained closed Thursday after tar balls washed ashore, the second such closure in a week along the Southern California coast.
Although the local shoreline appeared to be clear of the substance as of early afternoon, officials were waiting until the tide receded later in the day to find out if any more of the muck has been deposited on the sand, Long Beach Fire Department spokesman Jake Heflin said.
The tar balls, globules of what officials described as a petroleum substance, first appeared along Long Beach’s shoreline at about 4 p.m. Wednesday from 1st Place to 72nd Place. A similar substance was discovered along 8 miles of South Bay beaches last week, leading authorities to close beaches from Redondo Beach to El Segundo from May 27-29.
In both cases, officials said testing is underway to determine if the tar balls are related to the oil spill north of Santa Barbara on May 19.
The affected stretch in Long Beach will not be reopened until health and environmental concerns can be addressed, Heflin said. Officials said Thursday they did not know whether they were witnessing the beginning or ending stages of the tar ball episode.
“There have been ongoing efforts throughout the evening to make sure we are mitigating and minimizing any potential impact, not only on our beaches and protecting the environment, but also protecting and preserving public health and public safety,” Heflin told reporters at a beachside briefing Thursday.
On Thursday, workers for Ocean Blue Environmental Services had collected 55 gallons of the petroleum-based deposits along the shore, Heflin said. Additional amounts of the thick, black substance had washed ashore since those early cleanup efforts.
“We are seeing new product come up. We saw it this morning,” Heflin said in an interview following the briefing.
• PHOTOS: Tar ball cleanup in Long Beach
“It’s heavier than water so it rolls underneath the water and it eventually gets pushed on shore,” he said.
There is concern among officials that wildlife may be harmed by the tar-like substance.
Heflin told reporters a pelican was found saturated with oil and was being treated. A sea lion was seen on a breakwater in the ocean, possibly contaminated by oil, but it swam away.
Long Beach Fire Chief Mike DuRee said Thursday that crews are canvassing the breakwater area, where a fairly large population of brown pelicans congregate. Any animals affected will be cared for by Long Beach Animal Control Services.
The U.S. Coast Guard was also on scene collecting samples of the petroleum-based deposits for testing that could provide insight as to the substance’s source, officials said. Fire officials are unsure how long it will take to get the results of the tests.
There is no indication the incident is related to any Long Beach Gas and Oil operations, Heflin said.
DuRee said the substance washing ashore is “considerably different” from the oily substance often seen on area beaches.
Justin Lee, operations director of Ocean Blue, said in a telephone interview that it is possible for tar-like substances to appear at local beaches as a result of natural processes. Plate tectonics activity can result in such substances being released from the earth’s crust, but Lee said observations along Long Beach’s shoreline have not been consistent with what he would expect to have been seen if the tar balls are the result of natural phenomena.
“This does seem to be way more than usual when that happens,” he said.
Long Beach residents are advised to keep off area beaches because of the possibility of unsafe conditions, Heflin said. Beach users are advised to avoid contact with oil tars washed ashore or found in the water. Contact with oil tars may cause skin irritation and long-term health effects.
All reports of oil debris should be made to the National Response Center hotline at 800-424-8802.
The tar balls washing ashore in Long Beach come nearly a week after large globs of tar washed ashore in the South Bay. Additional tar balls washed ashore earlier this week in Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach, but the Coast Guard said the amount was not cause for concern. The tar patties were in line with what is typically seen on the beach from time to time from natural seepage, a Coast Guard spokesman said.
Staff writer Carley Dryden contributed to this report.
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