California oil spill estimated at up to 2,500 barrels

[Goleta, CALIFORNIA] An oil pipeline that burst along the California coast, fouling a pristine beach and a stretch of ocean near Santa Barbara, is believed to have spilled up to 2,500 barrels of crude petroleum, about five times more than initially estimated, the pipeline company said on Wednesday.

According to the latest figures issued by Plains All American Pipeline, about 500 barrels of the total released may have reached the water at Refugio State Beach.

A county energy official ranked the spill as the largest to hit the Santa Barbara coast in at least 18 years.

REUTERS