Photo: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty

An oil slick lines the beach as Huntington Beach lifeguards keep people out of the water while cleanup boat crews put booms around the oil at the scene of a major oil spill washing ashore in Huntington Beach Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021.

Beaches could see lengthy closures as a massive oil spill off the coast of Southern California continues to impact the environment and kill wildlife, including birds.

The oil spill was reported to the U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday, officials said in atweet. About 3,000 barrels, or approximately 126,000 gallons, of oil spilled off the California coast, prompting Huntington Beach officials to close the area as clean-up efforts began. Laguna Beach, which is south of Huntington Beach, alsoclosed their beaches.

Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said the area’s beloved beaches — known as “Surf City USA” — could remain closed anywhere “from a few weeks to a few months,” according toFox News.

DAVID MCNEW/AFP via Getty

Workers in boats try to clean up floating oil near gulls in the Talbert Marshlands as a 3,000-barrel oil spill, about 126,000 gallons, from an offshore oil rig reaches the shore and sensitive wildlife habitats in Newport Beach, California on October 3, 2021.

On Monday night, California Gov.Gavin Newsomissued a state of emergency in Orange County as personnel from the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services assist with cleanup and mitigation.

“The state is moving to cut red tape and mobilize all available resources to protect public health and the environment,” he said in apress release. “As California continues to lead the nation in phasing out fossil fuels and combating the climate crisis, this incident serves as a reminder of the enormous cost fossil fuels have on our communities and the environment.”

The cause of the major oil spill remains unknown.

Mario Tama/Getty

A person stands near oil washed up on Huntington State Beach after a 126,000-gallon oil spill from an offshore oil platform on October 3, 2021 in Huntington Beach, California.

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The city of Huntington Beach announced in apress releasethat the Coast Guard “is the lead agency coordinating the response into the spill incident, and the investigation into how the spill occurred.”

On Monday,officials saidthat Beta Offshore, a California subsidiary of Houston-based Amplify Energy Corporation, is responsible for the oil and working closely to assist in clean-up efforts.

This aerial picture taken on October 3, 2021 shows oil and an oil containment boom in the water of the Talbert Marshlands area from an offshore oil rig as it reaches the shore and sensitive wildlife habitats in Newport Beach, California.

Amplify Energy said on Monday that Beta Offshore “first observed and notified the US Coast Guard of an oil sheen approximately four miles off the coast in Southern California and initiated its Oil Spill Prevention and Response Plan,” according toNBC News.

“As a precautionary measure, all of the Company’s production and pipeline operations at the Beta Field have been shut down,” the company added in the statement.

“We’re looking into if it could have been an anchor from a ship, but that’s in the assessment phase right now,” U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Commander Jeannie Shaye added, according to the outlet.

source: people.com