HUNTINGTON BEACH : Oil Firm Predicting Cleanup by Weekend
British Petroleum predicted Monday that the cleanup from the Feb. 7 oil spill off Orange County should be completed by the weekend, which will allow officials to reopen the last beaches closed by contamination.
Company spokesman Tony Kozlowski said the cleanup of jetties near the Santa Ana River mouth and along Newport Beach should be completed by Wednesday night. By Friday, he said, the remaining 220 cleanup workers should be finished mopping up.
At that point, dozens of beach samples will be collected and tested for oil residue that could cause skin rashes or other health problems.
A two-mile stretch of beach from Golden West Street in Huntington Beach north to the main lifeguard tower at Bolsa Chica State Beach remained closed Monday, as workers concentrated on cleaning oil-coated rocks at the base of the bluffs. County and state officials hope to lift the ban on that stretch by this weekend.
However, a public ban on two miles of beaches from Magnolia Street in Huntington Beach south to the Newport Pier is unlikely to be lifted before next week, officials said.
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