"GOLETA -- An estimated 21,000 gallons of oil dumped into the ocean from a broken pipeline just off the central California coast before it was shut off on Tuesday, creating a spill stretching about 4 miles along the beach, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Santa Barbara County health officials have shut down Refugio State Beach, the central site of the spill, though many had abandoned the site already because of the foul smell.

That smell brought county firefighters to the beach earlier in the day to discover the spill."

The Associated Press had the story May 19, 2015. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Ruptured Pipeline Spills 21,000 Gallons of Oil on California Coast" (Reuters) [3]

"Ruptured Pipeline Causes Oil Spill at Refugio State Beach Near Santa Barbara" (ABC 7 Los Angeles) [4]

"Oil Slick Blackens Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County; Coast Guard Responding" (KTLA 5) [5]

"Big Oil Spill Along Refugio Coast" (Santa Barbara Independent) [6]