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Nearly 30 beaches, including parts of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach, remained closed Wednesday while 1,517 people participated in the vast oil spill cleanup efforts stretching across the San Francisco Bay and surrounding waters, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Ocean Beach was partially closed Tuesday at 7 p.m. because of oil covering the beach from the Cliffhouse to Lincoln Avenue, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.
As a result of the cleanup efforts on the water and shorelines — aided by 53 vessels working to clear oil from the bay’s surface, three helicopters surveying the affected areas, and a growing number of volunteers — nearly 13,000 gallons of oil have been collected.
The U.S. Coast Guard has deployed more than 27,500 feet of containment boom to collect oil in the affected waters, spilled when fuel leaked from a container ship that hit a tower of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge on Nov. 7.
And, as of Wednesday, about 4,060 gallons of oil have evaporated, and 580 gallons have been “dispersed naturally,” according to the Coast Guard.
Updated results of wildlife rescue efforts were also announced.
According to the Coast Guard, 804 live oiled birds and 590 dead birds have been collected.
People who find oiled birds should not attempt to rescue the wildlife and should instead call (415) 701-2311. Oil sightings can be reported to (415) 398-9617.
A list of closed beaches is available at http://www.uscgsanfrancisco.com .
