ALAMEDA, Calf. – The cleanup operations on the San Mateo and Monterey County beaches continued through 5:30 p.m. today, having cleaned or inspected over 100 miles of coastline.
Seven, 12-person teams cleaned Mussle Rock, Esplanade, Sharp Park, Linda Mar, Maverick’s, Poplar Beach, Cowell Ranch, Pescadero Beach, Cove Beach, Seaside, Monterey Park, and Carmel River Beach. As of 4 p.m. today most of the beaches have been checked and determined to be free of oil.
Tests conducted by state laboratories confirmed today that the oil was not associated to the COSCO BUSAN Incident but rather a natural offshore release from the ocean floor.
Active clean-up and monitoring will continue tomorrow. Hot shot teams will continue to clean at Poplar Beach, Pescadero Beach, and Seaside, they will also be standing by to respond to any reports of oil. Shoreline assessment teams will check previously cleaned beaches to ensure that no re-oiling has occurred.
Active clean-up operations are expected to be scaled back by mid-day Thursday based on inspection teams findings today.
