SoCal Beach Stretch Reopens After Tar Ball Problem

Officials reopened a stretch of Southern California coastline on Friday after closing it because of tar balls that washed ashore, in a phenomenon authorities are examining for any possible link to an oil pipeline spill.

Officials had closed the 4-mile (6-km) stretch of shore in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles, on Wednesday after beachgoers stepped on tar balls, said Long Beach Fire Department spokesman Jake Heflin.

Clean-up workers collected dozens of gallons of oil on the shore and the U.S. Coast Guard collected samples to determine its origin, Heflin said. Tar balls are a naturally occurring phenomenon on beaches in the region, but officials say the high numbers in recent days have raised questions about their origin.

Long Beach officials reopened the beachfront on Friday, Heflin said.

The beach closure followed a similar problem last week on a 6-mile (10-km) stretch of beaches just to the north in the South Santa Monica Bay area, from El Segundo to Redondo Beach, that was closed from May 27 to May 29.

A May 19 pipeline rupture near Santa Barbara, about 120 miles (195 km) northwest of Long Beach, dumped as much as 2,400 barrels of crude onto the shore and into the Pacific Ocean along a pristine stretch of coastline.

U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Petty Officer Andrea Anderson said on Thursday that her agency was looking into any possible links between the tar balls and the oil spill, but officials said no direct link had been established so far. 

(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)