Large globs of tar washed ashore Zuma Beach in Malibu on Tuesday, making it the latest stretch of Southern California coastline to turn up oil clumps.
Coast Guard officials say the black substance that washed up was only a fraction of what was found in the South Bay last week. That enabled crews to clean it without having to close the beach.
Los Angeles County lifeguards reported seeing the goo at the high tide line just after sunrise. The highest concentration was just west of Point Dume.
"Definitely not happy about it," said surfer Danny Raven. "This is one of the best surf spots in Malibu. It's kind of brutal to have tar all over."
Workers from the Department of Beaches and Harbors spent the day raking the sand and removing the tar.
Swimmers and surfers were being advised not to make contact, and if they did to wash it off with baby oil.
"I think the waves are pretty good so it shouldn't be an issue, but hopefully there's not much tar in the water," Raven said.
News
Top news of the day
Coast Guard oil spill specialists called in wildlife experts from the state and federal governments and county health experts.
A Coast Guard official in Los Angeles said samples of the pancake-sized petroleum were collected by state wildlife officials and were to go to Sacramento for chemical analysis.
The oil came five days after globs began washing ashore 25 miles up the coast in Ventura, and 10 days after large amounts of similar globs caused an 11-mile stretch of beaches on the southern part of Santa Monica Bay to be closed for cleanup.
Tests were underway to determine if that oil was related to the spill of about 21,000 gallons of crude oil from a pipeline at Refugio Beach, 10 miles west of Santa Barbara, on May 19.
Officials had predicted the Refugio oil would not spread as far east as Santa Barbara harbor. It is not unusual for oil to wash ashore in Southern California, from natural oil seeps in the ocean floor, or from passing ships.
No results on any of the chemical analysis has been released.
