Oil-covered beach near Santa Barbara, California, closed

Santa Barbara County, California, officials say a popular beach remains closed as officials try to determine the source of smelly oil and tar balls that have washed ashore.

Strong petroleum odors in the area prompted the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department to address the issue on Friday, saying contact could “pose short-term health impacts”. But after finding more and more liquid oil over a 300-yard stretch, officials decided Friday afternoon to shut it down entirely. The department is also checking is the issue has been caused by a pipeline breakage noticed in May, around 30 miles from the beach area.

The United States Coast Guard is also already assessing the situation. Summerland and nearby resorts may remain off limits to the public for a while. The officials do not have an idea from where the oil is leading, but they do not think that it is having any link to the Refugio oil spill that happened on May 19. “The beach closure may continue throughout the weekend”.