Teams are assessing Haskell’s Beach from Santa Barbara Shores Drive after an oil spill at the beach the evening of May 28. The work is part of the ongoing response, cleanup and environmental assessment, the city of Goleta reports.

“Goleta is fully committed to protecting and preserving public safety and access to our beach and ocean,” said Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte.

“While oil spills are always of great concern, I am impressed by the way local, state and federal agencies work together to contain the situation,” she said. “We continue to monitor the situation and assess it for impacts.”

A press release from Unified Command reports the following:

A Unified Command has been established to respond to a crude oil release that occurred at Pier 421 at Haskell’s Beach. The incident occurred while crews were working to plug an abandoned well, releasing an estimated 80-125 gallons of crude oil.

Multiple assessments have not detected any sheen on the water, but ground crews have discovered oil and oily debris along the shoreline in the vicinity of Pier 421 and points east. A team of cleanup contractors are working to remove this material.

Scientists continue to assess sensitive environmental sites in the area, including snowy plover nesting sites near Coal Oil Point. No impacts to those areas have been observed.

Crews from the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) have been activated and will be out assessing the area again on Friday. At this time, three birds have been collected.

The public is asked to avoid any potentially oiled wildlife, as approaching or trying to help them can do more harm than good. Anyone seeing oiled wildlife is asked to call the OWCN, 1-877-823-6926.

All beaches will remain open throughout the cleanup process and there are no impacts to public health, safety or recreational fishing. However, the public is asked to refrain from entering areas where crews are working or cleanup efforts are taking place.

Responding agencies include Santa Barbara County Fire, the U.S. Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, city of Goleta, and California State Lands Commission.

Public volunteers are not currently needed.

For more information about the response, visit CalSpillwatch.com, owcn.org and slc.ca.gov.

— City of Goleta.