Pipeline break coats beach in oil

At least 126,000 gallons of crude oil leaked into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Huntington Beach, Calif., this weekend. An Amplify Energy pipeline from offshore rigs burst either late Friday or early Saturday and was subsequently shut off. The Coast Guard is investigating harm to wildlife from the spill and skimming the water to remove as much oil as possible. Crews laid about 3,700 feet of floating booms to try to stop the slick from spreading into protected wetlands.

How significant is the spill? The oil washed ashore and forced officials to close about 6 miles of popular beachfront. Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said the closure could last weeks or even months. The last major oil spill in the area happened in 1990 when a tanker ran over its anchor, spilling nearly 417,000 gallons of crude.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Daniel James Devine’s report about innovations in oil cleanup technology after the 2010 BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.