Schwarzenegger declares state of emergency over oil spill

Yahoo News 9 Nov 07;

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency on Friday to help fight the San Francisco oil spill that is threatening wildlife and several miles of pristine coastline.

Schwarzenegger signed an order directing all available resources be deployed to help the clean-up operation after inspecting the site of the 58,000-gallon (228,000 liter) spill, a statement said.

"I have signed an emergency proclamation, so all the state's resources can be coordinated to address this oil spill," Schwarzenegger said.

The Office of Spill Prevention and Response had also been instructed to "throw everything we possibly can at this without wasting a minute of time," Schwarzenegger added.

The order comes amid reports of criticism at the initial reaction to the spill, which occurred early Wednesday when a Cosco-Busan container ship struck the San Francisco Bay Bridge.

Authorities are battling to mop up the slick of heavy fuel that has been rapidly dispersed along the northern California coastline around San Francisco, forcing closure of several beaches and threatening wildlife.

The California Department of Fish and Game reported on Thursday that 26 birds covered in thick oil had so far been rescued and six had been found dead. Officials have warned that hundreds more were at risk.

The agency's assistant chief Steve Edinger described the spill as a "very significant event."

"This is one we're very concerned about," he said.

Officials said Thursday the slick had spread well beyond San Francisco Bay to around 13 miles (20 kilometers) north of the Bay Bridge.

It is the biggest oil spill to hit the region since 1996, when 10,000 gallons of fuel leaked out of a ship undergoing repairs.

The Coast Guard said a total of 11 skimmers had been deployed to try and recover the oil while protective booms stretching 18,000 feet (5,400 meters) had been put in place to try and protect beaches and wildlife.

A further 11,000 feet of log booms had been set up around the perimeter of the Cosco Busan although no more fuel was leaking from the vessel, a Coast Guard spokeswoman told local media.

Meanwhile the US Coast Guard said the crew and the pilot of the COSCO-Busan container ship had passed alcohol tests taken after the accident.

The size of the spill is small compared to some of the world's worst oil disasters. The tanker Exxon Valdez swamped a stretch of the Alaskan coastline with 11 million gallons of oil in 1989 causing catastrophic devastation to wildlife in the region.