VENTURA, Calif. (AP) – Tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil spilled from an underground coastal pipeline in Southern California, but the ooze never reached the ocean or beach, stopping instead in a canyon ravine.
About 29,000 gallons of oil spilled and flowed at least a quarter-mile in the canyon near Ventura on Thursday, fire authorities said.
Resident Kirk Atwater said he called 911 after smelling and hearing the flowing crude. “We started getting this horrendous smell, and I knew right away what it was,” he said.
Atwater, 56, said he went up the canyon on his motor scooter and found the oil gushing from an above-ground box that he surmised covers equipment. “It was just pouring out like water coming out of a fire hydrant,” he said.
Atwater said he found a posted phone number and reported the leak to the pipeline company.