State Officials Seek Source of Big Oil Spill in Dry Creek Bed

BAKERSFIELD — State Fish and Game officials were trying Friday to determine the source of a major spill of petroleum-based sludge in a dry creek bed about 40 miles west of here.

The spill, which officials said is 5 to 6 miles long and 30 feet wide, is located in a dry watercourse in oil fields between Fellows and Derby Acres.

A biologist from Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve notified state officials of the spill Thursday. Officials said it is in a prime habitat for the endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard, the giant kangaroo rat and the threatened San Joaquin kit fox.

“It’s a long line of very sticky, gooey mess,” said George Nokes, regional manager for the Fish and Game Department. “If any animals get in, they can’t get out and probably won’t survive.

Two dead kangaroo rats were found in the oil, said Dale Mitchell, associate fishery biologist with the department.

One theory of the source is that a dike broke somewhere upstream during last month’s storm, allowing leaking oil to flow downstream from a well.

Another possibility is that oil leaked from a pipeline that was being repaired in the area.

The problem in figuring out what to do is that “cleanup activities could endanger the habitat,” Mitchell said.