An oil spill from a ruptured pipeline in East Los Angeles on the eve of Memorial Day weekend has poured thousands more gallons than initially reported into the Los Angeles River, killing wild birds and releasing pungent odors into the homes and businesses of the tight-knit Latino community, according to a report released Tuesday, June 9, by Los Angeles County officials. The county's Public Works, public health, and business affairs departments are working with county attorneys to determine fault and pursue litigation to recover millions of dollars spent on an emergency cleanup that will continue through the summer.
Mark Pestrella, director of Public Works, told the Board of Supervisors that this was one of the largest oil spills into the Los Angeles River in history. While the pipeline is no longer leaking, the effects persist.
Pestrella estimated the cost of the incident could range between $50 million and $100 million. The board noted that the crude oil spill received little media attention, likely because the media was focused on a threat of explosion from a noxious gas leak at the GKN Aerospace plant in Garden Grove, which led to the evacuation of 50,000 people.
Fourth District Supervisor Janice Hahn questioned the head of the county's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) about why a shelter-in-place order was not issued. Officials said they relied on state authorities from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and its Office of Spill Prevention and Response, which determined that such an order was not necessary.
The county OEM had been criticized in an independent report last September for failing to issue more emergency evacuation alerts to west Altadena residents during the early morning hours of Jan. 8, 2025, when the Eaton fire destroyed 70% of homes in Altadena.
Hahn requested that a response analysis report, due back to the board in 90 days, explore alternative ways to alert the public beyond relying on state and federal agencies.
Barbara Ferrer, head of the county Department of Public Health, said that for the first few days, her office recommended people stay indoors. She acknowledged that many residents and business owners were unaware of what had happened.
"Communications is one area where we were not at our best," she said.
The spill began at 3:41 a.m. on Friday, May 22, when crude oil started pouring into the busy intersection of Eastern Avenue and Cesar Chavez Avenue in unincorporated East Los Angeles.
An underground crude oil pipeline owned and operated by Pacific Pipeline System, running from Kern County to Long Beach, was struck by a telecommunications contractor, according to the state Office of Spill Prevention and Response. Oil seeped into the ground, undermining the street pavement, and flowed into county storm drains and into the Los Angeles River, heading toward nearby Southeast Los Angeles County cities.
Public Works and L.A. County Fire Department Hazardous Materials teams were first on the scene, using plastic booms and vacuums to stop the oil from reaching the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach Harbor.
Pestrella said the pipeline owners initially told first responders the spill was small, only about 2,000 gallons. However, the state oil spill response agency reported on its Facebook page that the actual amount spilled was 24,654 gallons of crude oil.
"We had a lack of information from the pipeline owner," Pestrella said. "At first, we did not know it was something like 25,000 gallons that were spilled."
A containment boom is in place in the Los Angeles River and at multiple locations to maintain containment of the crude oil. Workers are using skimmers and vacuum trucks to recover oil from the waterway, and crews are also removing impacted vegetation, with efforts to maximize potential regrowth.
Pestrella said he did not have an estimate for when all the oil would be removed from the river system. Oil seeping into the ground has bubbled up onto streets, requiring additional soil testing and removal of oil from parkways and roadways.
The two major thoroughfares will have one lane closed in each direction until cleanup is complete, which will last through summer.
The toll on wildlife has been significant. As of June 8, the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, based at UC Davis, reported 27 dead birds collected, while 131 live birds were rescued from the L.A.
River, all covered in oil. Of those rescued, 109 live birds and four eggs collected for incubation from an abandoned nest remain in the group's care.
The birds include multiple black-necked stilts, Canada geese, Mallard ducks, Western gulls, a gadwall, double-crested cormorant, brown pelican, Egyptian goose, Brewer's blackbird, and California gull. Anyone seeing oiled wildlife should not attempt to touch or capture them but should call the OWCN hotline at 1-877-823-6926.
First District Supervisor Hilda Solis, who visited the scene shortly after the spill, said she smelled petroleum odors far from the rupture point. "The odors when I was last there was pretty miserable," Solis said.
Ferrer noted that the South Coast Air Quality Management District reported no health risks, but odors intensified during cleanup efforts. "The odors for some people can be very aggravating," she said.
Solis also expressed concern for businesses along the two main streets of East Los Angeles, many of which were closed for a time and now face reduced foot traffic due to lane closures. "One manager told me they lost $10,000 a day," she said.
An on-the-street survey by Kelly LoBianco, director of the county's Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), found that 50 businesses reported losing 75% of their sales. To file a lost business revenue claim, call the county DEO at 877-817-5465.
For health concerns or information, call DPH at 626-430-9821. To report odors, dial 800-288-7664.
"Incidents like this oil spill only deepen the inequities faced in this community. Accountability must be pursued swiftly, thoroughly, and without exception," Solis wrote in a motion to review the response.