San Francisco Bay Oil Spill

[Guest guest]

If you see or hear of any oiled birds or other wildlife, please call

this number immediately:

 

877-826-6926

 

DO NOT TOUCH THE ANIMAL - the oil is toxic. Do not pick it up, even

with a towel. Only hazmat trained individuals, wearing special gear,

can safely help the animals.

 

Our beautiful birds and other creatures have been turned into toxic

waste by this horrible event :-(

 

Maggie Rufo

Novato

 

Spill closes S.F. beaches; oil washes up on Marin Headlands,

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/08/

BAD8T8PLU.DTL

 

(11-08) 13:00 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Heavy-duty bunker fuel oil from

the 58,000 gallons that spilled from a container ship when it rammed

the Bay Bridge has washed up on several San Francisco beaches and the

Marin Headlands, officials said today.

 

Some 8,000 gallons of oil have been contained since Wednesday's

accident, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. William Uberti said this morning.

Large patches are still floating in the bay. Dozens of birds coated

in the oil have been rescued from beaches stretching as far north as

Stinson Beach. A handful have died.

 

Some officials say they expect the beach pollution to worsen early

this afternoon as the tide rushes out of the Golden Gate. Along Rodeo

Beach in the Marin Headlands, National Park Service ranger Robert Del

Secco kept visitors away from the beach, which is covered in dark

clumps of oil.

 

" This is nothing. What's around the corner at Point Bonita is the

bulk (of the spill), " he said. " There are slicks all along the coast.

I anticipate as the tide goes out it is going to hit beaches along

the North Coast (on ocean side). "

 

Oil began leaking into the water after the 65,131-ton Cosco Busan, an

810-foot-long container ship, crashed into the base of a tower of the

Bay Bridge's western span in heavy fog at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

 

It was the first time in memory that an oceangoing ship had run into

the bridge, which did not suffer major damage.

 

Authorities have closed several beaches, including Baker Beach, China

Beach, Crissy Field and Fort Point in San Francisco after oil washed

up on them Wednesday night. Alcatraz Island, and Kirby Cove and Rodeo

Beach on the coast of the Marin Headlands have also been closed

because of the oil.

 

The pungent oil scent can be smelled around the Bay Area.

 

Chris Godley, emergency services manager for Marin County, said

slicks had appeared in the water near the North Bay shoreline.

 

One slick, 50 yards long and 20 yards wide, was seen off Paradise

Drive in Tiburon. Another was seen in Richardson Bay near Bayfront

Park in Mill Valley, Godley said.

 

Representative from 13 agencies met this morning at Fort Mason to

discuss the next steps.

 

Until 9 p.m. Wednesday, the Coast Guard said only 140 gallons had

spilled from the vessel. That estimate came from the ship's owners,

Uberti said, and the Coast Guard realized later after checking the

bay that the magnitude was far greater.

 

Although the agency did not announce that news until well after

sundown, Uberti said the initial cleanup response was appropriate.

 

The ship's owners called in a private cleanup company, O'Brien's

Group of Southern California, immediately after the accident, Uberti

said.

 

Barry McFarland, incident commander with the company, said that in

addition to the fouled beaches, cleanup crews are concentrating on

three main sheens of oil in the bay - one west of Treasure Island, a

second north of the Bay Bridge and a third south of Angel Island.

 

Five vessels are in the bay and three are outside the Golden Gate

looking for additional oil patches, he said. The company has laid

down about 18,000 feet of containment boom, and about 115 people are

at work in the field scooping up the oil.

 

McFarland could not say how long the effort would take.

 

" It's too early to tell any timeline, " he said. " We'll be here for

quite some time. "

 

Wildlife officials said finding birds and other animals covered in

oil is a high priority.

 

The spill threatens to coat the birds' feathers, making it impossible

for them to stay warm when they get into the chilly bay water, said

Dr. Mike Ziccardi, director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network. The

UC Davis program organizes the wildlife aid response for the state

Department of Fish and Game. The Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito is

also part of the network.

 

The most common species feeding at the Golden Gate at this time of

year are western grebes and scoters.

 

" The birds' first response is to get out of the water (during a

spill), " Ziccardi said. " They have a high metabolism and need to eat

frequently. Because they're out of the water, they can't eat. They

can become severely debilitated and can die unless brought into

rehabilitation. "

 

At the International Bird Rescue Research Center in Fairfield, " we

get them warm, we get them rehydrated and we get the oil off of them.

The more quickly we can respond, the better it will be, " Ziccardi said.

 

Some of the injured birds are being taken to a recovery station at

Fort Mason in San Francisco.

 

Residents who spot birds covered with oil should call (877) 823-6926.

 

E-mail the writers at jcuriel,

pfimrite and jkay.