Officials Mobilize to Cope With the Damage : Government: Two congressmen will return from capital today to meet with local officials. Huntington Beach’s City Council holds an emergency meeting.

As thousands of gallons of oil sloshed their way toward Orange County’s coastline, locally elected officials reacted with a mix of concern and anger.

“I’m not taking this lightly,” said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Lomita), an advocate of offshore oil drilling. “I’ve bodysurfed all up and down these beaches, and I know how devastating (an oil spill) can be.”

Rohrabacher said that the spill was more evidence that “tankers are very risky as a way of transporting oil,” but that it was too soon to draw any conclusions about what policy ramifications the accident might have.

“We’re going to have to see what caused this accident,” he said. “I would hate at this point to make a premature judgment.”

Rohrabacher and Rep. C. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), whose districts include parts of Huntington Beach, plan to fly back to Orange County today and meet with local officials this afternoon.

“I want to make sure that all existing resources are ample to deal with the direct and indirect problems,” Cox said. “If there are any problems falling through the cracks, I’d want to rush through legislation when we reconvene in a week.”

Cox told the entire California congressional delegation of the spill at a dinner at the National Press Club after one of his aides telephoned him there, the lawmaker said.

“It was serendipitous that I could get the news to everyone,” Cox said. “We will be able to act in harmony on it.”

Huntington Beach Mayor Thomas J. Mays said his city, which has a long history of onshore and offshore oil drilling, is “probably one of the most prepared cities in California for this kind of emergency.” He and three council members were monitoring developments related to the spill at a City Hall command post before holding an emergency council meeting Wednesday night.

“One of our main concerns is any damage to wildlife in the Bolsa Chica wetlands,” Mays said, adding that they also feared that the spill would further damage the closed municipal pier and foul Huntington city and state beaches, which form one of the most popular stretches of shoreline in Southern California.

Orange County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, who lives in Huntington Beach and is a former mayor of that city, said evidence of the spill was readily apparent, even inland.

“I live half a mile from the beach,” Wieder said. “When I walked out my door, I could smell the oil in the air.”

Laguna Beach City Councilman Robert F. Gentry, one of Orange County’s most vocal opponents of offshore drilling, said he was “outraged” by the spill.

“Here we sit with a quarter of a millions gallons of oil coming to Orange County beaches, one of the most precious resources in the world--and we are planning to continue the development of offshore oil,” Gentry said. “I find that ludicrous.”

Outside Orange County, other officials also were quick to express their concern.

State Controller Gray Davis, who serves as chairman of the State Lands Commission, called for an investigation into the oil tanker accident. The Lands Commission has regulatory authority over oil development in state lands and waters.

Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy, also a member of the commission, issued a prepared statement warning that only a small fraction of the spill would ever be cleaned up, leaving the remainder to “do lasting damage to the Orange County coastline, air and economy.”