On May 19, 2015, a pipeline owned and operated by Plains All America Pipeline ruptured, spilling more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil, much of which ran down a storm drain and into a ravine under the freeway, with an estimated 21,000 gallons reaching the ocean near Refugio State Beach just north of Santa Barbara.

In a talk, titled The Refugio Incident: A Wildlife Responder’s Perspective, Elaine Ibarra, director of animal care at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, will speak about the evolution of oil spill response, how that shaped the Refugio incident and her personal experiences during the spill.

Ibarra’s lecture will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 14, at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM), 113 Harbor Way, Ste. 190.

Beginning with a discussion of historic spills (Valdez and American Trader spills) Ibarra will talk about some of the responding agencies, including the Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.

She will cover the process of responding to a spill and her personal experience with the Refugio incident.

Ibarra graduated from California State University at Channel Islands with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and is a trained and experienced oil spill responder.

Before joining the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, she had volunteer experience with the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute, the Ojai Raptor Center, and the International Bird Rescue Research Center.

Cost to attend is $10 for SBMM members, $20 for non-members. Register at www.sbmm.org or 805-456-8747.

For more about the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, visit sbmm.org or call 805-962-8404 for details.

— Rita Serotkin for Santa Barbara Maritime Museum.