CONTACT:
Lael Wageneck, Public Information Officer
Santa Barbara County Public Works Department (805) 568-3425 [email protected]
Steve Gonzalez, Public Information Officer
California Department of Fish and Wildlife/Office of Spill Prevention and Response
(916) 715-9072 [email protected]
TORO INCIDENT UPDATE: 1/3/23
Date of Incident: 1/1/23
Incident Name: Toro Incident
Location: 1073 Toro Canyon Rd., Carpinteria, Santa Barbara County
Product details: Crude Oil
Unified Command (Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara County Fire Department, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (CDFW-OSPR)) continue to manage the Toro Incident. Approximately 50-60 personnel – including Unified Command – have been assigned to the Toro Incident. Response activities include surveying the area for oil and impacted wildlife, clean up operations and preparing for upcoming rain.
No oil from the Toro Incident has been observed in the creek south of State Route Highway 192 at Toro Canyon Road, including the beach and ocean. Pacific Petroleum California continues to clean up and reduce the impacts of the spill to the community, environment, and wildlife.
CDFW-OSPR has activated Wildlife Branch with the Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) to address potential impacts to wildlife. As of 8 a.m. on January 3, there are no reports of oiled wildlife. Anyone observing oiled wildlife should not attempt to capture it. Instead, please report observations of oiled wildlife to the oiled wildlife hotline at 1-877-UCD-OWCN (1-877-823-6926). Volunteers are not requested at this time. If volunteers are needed in the future, information will be available at Calspillwatch.wildlife.ca.gov.
The amount of oil discharged, impacts, and cause are currently under investigation.