Roughly 30,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into Ventura’s Prince Barranca Valley on Thursday after a leak in a pipeline valve.
The underground Crimson Pipeline-owned line was carrying Aera Energy oil, Ventura County Fire spokeswoman Marisol Rodriguez told Noozhawk.
The crude, she said, made it half a mile down the valley.
Prince Barranca Valley is off of Hall Canyon, below Grove Lane, in the city of Ventura.
At a press conference at San Buenaventura State Beach nearby, officials said that the cause has not yet been determined, though Crimson spokeswoman Kendall Klingler said that the leak emanated from a valve.
A maintenance worker discovered the leak at about 5:30 a.m. and called Crimson, she said, and the company immediately shut down the valve and contacted local agencies.
The oil was not flowing at full pressure, she said.
Ventura Fire Department chief David Endaya said that a quick damming and diking operation stopped the roughly 700 barrels-worth of oil from making it into the city or ocean.
Hazardous materials teams from around the region, he said, quickly arrived on scene to help out. Felicia Foster of Ventura County Environmental Health said that the vacuuming of oil pools was already underway.
According to Ventura Police Department commander Rick Murray, no evacuations were put in place and future ones aren’t anticipated.
Fairview Drive at Hall Canyon Road, however, is closed to all but residents and emergency personnel, he said.
The Coast Guard is currently on scene and monitoring the incident in case the spill does end up posing a danger to the ocean, Coast Guard Petty Officer Bryan Nystrom said.
Klingler added that Crimson is currently the responsible party and that an investigation will determine who will pay for damages.
The line, she said, runs from Ventura County to Los Angeles.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.