Major oil spill off Southern California fouls beaches

By AMY TAXIN and CHRISTOPHER WEBER
Associated Press

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A major oil spill off the coast of Southern California fouled popular beaches and killed wildlife while crews scrambled Sunday to contain the crude before it spread further into protected wetlands. A statement from the city of Huntington Beach says at least 126,000 gallons of oil spilled into the waters off Orange County. The Los Angeles Times reports birds and fish have been killed. Crews have deployed skimmers and booms to try to corral the slick. The coastline is closed from the Huntington Beach Pier nearly 4 miles south to the Santa Ana River jetty.