California beaches remain open as source of oil slick sought

In this photo provided by the Santa Barbara County, Calif., Fire Department, Henry Duncan, left, and Bob Seiler, legs covered in oil, foreground, stand in the Goleta Beach parking lot with their oil-covered kayaks, on the truck at rear, in Goleta, Calif., Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The pair encountered a large oil sheen and called the fire department to investigate. The Coast Guard is investigating this new oil slick off the Southern California coast about a dozen miles from where a broken pipeline spilled thousands of gallons of crude into the ocean in May. (Mike Eliason/ Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP) In this photo provided by the Santa Barbara County, Calif., Fire Department, Henry Duncan, left, and Bob Seiler, legs covered in oil, foreground, stand in the Goleta Beach parking lot with their oil-covered kayaks, on the truck at rear, in Goleta, Calif., Wednesday, July 29, 2015. The pair encountered a large oil sheen and called the fire department to investigate. The Coast Guard is investigating this new oil slick off the Southern California coast about a dozen miles from where a broken pipeline spilled thousands of gallons of crude into the ocean in May. (Mike Eliason/ Santa Barbara County Fire Department via AP)

By Associated Press July 30, 2015 1 min read

GOLETA, Calif. (AP) – The Coast Guard is hoping lab tests will determine the source of a mysterious miles-long oil slick floating off California’s Santa Barbara County shoreline.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Andrea Anderson said Thursday that the 3-mile-long sheen is about 1,000 yards from the sand and beaches remain open.

She says tar ball samples were sent to labs after the slick was reported by kayakers Wednesday off the city of Goleta. There’s no word when results may come back.

Anderson says officials hope to determine whether the tar is from natural seepage or oil extraction operations.

In May, a broken pipeline spilled 100,000 gallons of crude oil, fouling sands, seabirds and fishing areas in the same general area.