About 5,000 barrels of oil, or 210,000 gallons, have spilled out of a Southern California pipeline and are headed toward the Pacific Ocean, reports indicated Thursday.
The Los Angeles Times reported oil belonging to Aera Energy burst through a pipeline owned by Crimson Pipeline in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles.
County firefighters were headed to the spill site and were attempting to keep the oil from reaching the ocean. According to the Times, the spill took place near the beach, but the area has natural barriers, such as a catch basin, and crews were building larger barriers by bulldozer and by hand.
The pump has been shut off but the oil spill continues because gravity is forcing more oil out of the pipeline.
