Since Sunday, October 3, the American authorities have been trying to contain an oil flow near the coast of California, covering nearly 34 square kilometers and whose environmental damage was already being felt.

That’s the equivalent of 3,000 barrels of crude oil that end up in the water and now arrive on American beaches south of Los Angeles.

The oil spill will have “irreversible consequences on the environment”, denounced a local official, Katrina Foley, many fish and dead birds having been found on the coast.

The most affected community, Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles, had to cancel the last day of an air show, the Pacific Airshow, which was to take place on the beach, in order to ensure “full and unhindered access to the marine environment ”.

Origin of the flow, an oil pipeline?

The origin of this flow, estimated by the municipality at nearly 480,000 liters, has not yet been determined with certainty but it would be a leak from an oil pipeline about 8 km from the coast, according to Katrina Foley. .

Initial analyzes of the hydrocarbon showed that it was “post-production crude oil”, according to the official.

Warning of the “toxicity” of this substance, Huntington Beach asked residents to stay away from affected areas, avoid the beach and not to swim.

Significant efforts to contain this oil spill were underway on Sunday, the city services were hard at work, according to a press release.

“Skimming systems and floating booms have been deployed to prevent oil from reaching the Bolsa Chica ecological reserve and the Huntington Beach wetlands,” the text explains.

However, these wetlands are already suffering “significant ecological consequences”, he regrets.

The oil spill will have “irreversible consequences on the environment”, denounced a local official, Katrina Foley, many fish and dead birds having been found on the coast.

The worst-affected community, Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles, had to cancel the last day of an air show, the Pacific Airshow, in order to ensure “full and unimpeded access to the marine environment”.

The origin of this flow, estimated by the municipality at nearly 480,000 liters, has not yet been determined with certainty but it would be a leak from an oil pipeline about 8 km from the coast, according to Mr. ^me  Foley.