oil-covered birds – Wildlife officials say multiple birds were found covered in oil after a Friday rupture of an East Los Angeles pipeline sent an estimated 2,400 gallons of crude into storm drains and toward the Los Angeles River, prompting animal rescue efforts and ongoing city
For the second time this weekend, the Los Angeles River held a grim surprise at its surface—oil where wildlife should have been finding clean water.
Wildlife officials said they found multiple birds covered in oil after an East Los Angeles pipeline rupture on Friday sent crude oil into nearby storm drains. eventually flowing into the Los Angeles River. The birds were taken out of the river and brought to the Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care & Education Center in San Pedro for cleaning and treatment. according to a Saturday statement from the Oiled Wildlife Care Network. a collective of wildlife emergency response organizations and universities. It was not immediately clear how many birds were affected.
The rupture was reported around 3:20 a.m. Friday near East Cesar Chavez and North Eastern avenues, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. County Fire Capt. Aaron Katon said a telecommunications crew boring a 6-inch hole about 10 feet underground to lay fiber-optic cable hit a pipeline beneath the street that transports crude oil from Kern County to the Port of Los Angeles.
The pipeline spilled an estimated 2,400 gallons of crude oil. From there, it moved onto surface streets and into nearby storm drains, eventually reaching the river.
The operator shut down the pipeline within 30 minutes. Even so, the intersection where the rupture was reported remained closed Sunday as crews worked to excavate and repair the line.
The city of Long Beach said officials were monitoring conditions in and around the Los Angeles River. In a statement Sunday afternoon, the city said it understood that no new oil is entering the river and that mitigation efforts were focused on oil already present.
An oil sheen was visible Saturday near the Pacific Coast Highway bridge over the river, the city said. Oil-absorbing booms were deployed along the waterway at multiple locations. including at PCH. Willow Street. Ocean Boulevard and the approach to Golden Shore. The city said crews were also skimming where sheen was present to remove oil from the river.
Near the shoreline, the response extended beyond cleanup. Homeless services workers were communicating with unhoused people near the river to inform them about the spill and to offer services, according to the city’s statement.
The sequence of the spill—reported early Friday. linked to an underground boring. shut down within 30 minutes. and then followed by a monitoring-and-cleanup effort across the waterway—has left responders focused on a narrow. urgent question: what remains in the river after the rupture. and how quickly it can be removed before it reaches more places where people and wildlife depend on the water being clear.
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