Pipeline Leak Spills 700 Barrels of Crude Oil in Ventura County

Ventura, CA — A pipeline leak near Ventura caused more than 29,000 gallons of crude oil to flow into the hillside early Thursday morning, prompting fear it may flow into the ocean below, fire officials said.

The spill, initially thought to be about 5,000 barrels but revised down to 700, happened at 5:30 a.m. in Hall Canyon, Ventura County Fire Capt. Mike Linberry said.

A maintenance worker spotted the leak and immediately notified Crimson Pipeline, which owns the oil and the pipes, Crimson spokeswoman Kendall Klingler said.

The oil flowed about a half mile down Prince Barranca, Linberry said. The barranca leads down to San Buenaventura State Beach near the Ventura Pier.

Officials initially feared the oil would flow down the barranca, into the city of Ventura and into the ocean.

"Because we were prepared and trained for such incidents as this, we were able to do a damming and diking operation, with our agencies working together, and stopping the flow of oil from even making it through the city, much less down to the ocean," Ventura City Fire Chief David Endeya said.

The oil was leaking from a valve in an underground line, but the cause was still under investigation, Klingler said.

"The line didn't break," she said. "It had been closed for maintenance, and (the company) has only released 2,000 barrels into it."

The pipeline, which runs through Ventura and Los Angeles counties, was not flowing at full pressure and has been shut off, Klingler said.

Authorities have closed Hall Canyon Road at Fairview Drive, and the street is only accessible to residents and emergency workers, Ventura Police Cmdr. Rick Murray said.

No homes have been evacuated, and police don't anticipate any homes will need to be evacuated, he said.

The oil was initially thought to be owned by Aera Energy, but Aera spokeswoman Cindy Pollard told Patch it was owned by Crimson.

"The spill happened near Aera property, and we have offered our assistance to Crimson," Pollard said.

Crews have already started to vacuum pools of oil and cleanup efforts, said Felicia Foster of the Ventura County Environmental Health

Nearby residents may smell some odor, which may cause some irritation, but there is no ill health effect from the vapors, said Dr. Robert Levin of Ventura County Public Health.

But as a precaution, residents should close their windows if they smell oil, he said.

This spill comes more than a year after an oil spill on Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara created tarballs that reached as far south as Redondo Beach.

— Photos courtesy of the Ventura County Fire Department