Oily Globs Found Near The Strand Spur Closure Of Nearby Beaches

MANHATTAN BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Authorities have closed several beaches while they investigate and cleanup a petroleum-based substance that washed ashore Wednesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard said globs or what appeared to be oil were reported by firefighters just after 12:30 p.m. along the 2200 block of The Strand.

After the report, an overflight search was conducted by the Coast Guard, which report that it did not find sheen nor the source of the oil.

The Coast Guard subsequently called a pollution-investigation team, and cleanup efforts were underway.

A spokesperson for the Coast Guard said a team was collecting samples of the oil to be analyzed.

As a precaution, Redondo and Hermosa beaches have been closed and residents are being asked to avoid water contact from 34th Street in Manhattan Beach south to Longfellow Avenue in Hermosa Beach.

"All oil spills are serious so when we see anything on the water and it's a petroleum-based product, we move with everything we've got, and that's the way we treat every single one of them," a spokesperson for the Coast Guard said.

Although the source of the spill remains unknown, the agency confirmed the product is not natural seepage. Samples of the substance have been sent to a lab for testing.

"On the heels of what's happened in Santa Barbara and now here. It's alarming," said Tory Mueller, a Manhattan Beach resident.

Meanwhile, cleanup crews were expected to work to remove the substance by the handfuls.