Cleanup was underway Wednesday in a wooded, remote area of Ventura County after about 420 gallons of crude oil inundated a waterway, officials said, and crews were working to beat the upcoming storm.
An above-ground storage tank operated by Carbon California spilled the oil into a remote tributary of Sisar Creek near Ojai, contaminating about three-quarters of a mile of the waterway, according to state wildlife officials.
Although the waterway and spill are small compared to some other major oil spills, “everything counts,” said Kristina Meris, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response.
“There’s wildlife, there’s the environment, and people live in these areas,” she said. “We want to clean up everything we possibly can as quickly as we can safely.”
Initial reports of an oil spill were received Tuesday afternoon, Meris said. But steep terrain, limited road access and the approaching severe weather are complicating the cleanup.
Responders reached the creek bed Wednesday and “hit it pretty hard today,” Meris said, setting up a safety zone around the site. Officials will also conduct air quality tests to evaluate health hazards.
“It’s a super remote and super difficult area to get to,” Meris told The Times. “The only concern for the response tomorrow will be the bad weather coming in, so the safety of our responders could become an issue.”
The spill originated from a damaged gas tank owned by Carbon California, a company that operates oil and gas wells in the state, particularly in Ventura County. Officials said the cause remained under investigation, but the company has been designated the responsible party and is participating in a unified command with state and local agencies, which also includes personnel from the Environmental Protection Agency, Fish and Wildlife and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.
Cleanup teams are skimming and pumping oil from the tributary and deploying absorbent booms and pads to recover oil trapped along the creek bed. Crews have been able to contain much of the spill, Meris said, but storm conditions could hamper their efforts.
They expect to begin reporting recovery totals Thursday morning, though those numbers will likely reflect an “oily water mixture,” not pure crude. “Sometimes it can be a little bit higher than the number [of gallons spilled] because there will be water mixed in,” she said.
No wildlife had been reported harmed as of Wednesday evening, but Meris emphasized that swift response was critical to preventing harm.
“The quicker you respond, the quicker you get this cleaned up, the better for the environment,” she said.
The spill site is far from major roadways, part of what officials described as a rugged stretch of watershed feeding into Sisar Creek. Cleanup operations will pause overnight for safety but are expected to resume Thursday morning, weather permitting.
Officials did not immediately provide a timeline for a complete cleanup but said the response would continue until the creek met “established environmental endpoints” and recoverable oil product was removed.
Gavin J. Quinton
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