Earthquake: The Long Road Back : Crews Race to Contain Oil Spill in River : Santa Clarita: A 15-mile slick spreads after pipeline breaks during jolt. Area is home to two endangered species.

Cleanup crews scrambled Tuesday to contain a 15-mile-long slick of crude oil that spilled into the Santa Clara River in Santa Clarita after a pipeline ruptured during Monday’s earthquake.

An estimated 147,000 gallons of crude poured from the 10-inch-wide pipeline before the spill was discovered about 8:30 a.m. Monday. There were no reports late Tuesday of deaths or injuries to birds or fish, but officials said it was too early to gauge the spill’s effect on the river and its wildlife.

“Generally you don’t see (injuries to birds) in the first 24 hours,” said Mary Gale, spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Game’s office of oil spill prevention and response.

The stretch of river befouled by the spill is home to two endangered species--a fish known as the three-spined unarmored stickleback and a songbird called the least Bell’s vireo. The river is also home to wading birds and other wildlife.

The pipeline is owned by Four Corners Pipe Line Co., a subsidiary of Arco. The line, used to transport oil from Kern County to several Los Angeles-area refineries, broke in nine places during the quake, an Arco official said.

Two breaks within about 100 yards of one another caused the spill into the river.

Another break in the same line in San Fernando on Monday sparked a fire that destroyed 17 parked cars, damaged or destroyed four houses and severely burned a man passing by on his motorcycle, said Albert Greenstein, manager of media relations for Arco.

The pipeline was not pumping oil at the time of quake but held a residue of crude, Greenstein said.

An Arco official estimated the spill at 3,500 barrels, or 147,000 gallons, of which about 3,000 barrels reached the river. The official said cleanup work could continue for weeks.

More than 200 workers hired by Arco were siphoning oil from the river and using earthen dams to contain the spill just south of the town of Piru in eastern Ventura County.

“This is a very large oil spill,” said Reed Smith, a Department of Fish and Game official. “It’s a mess.”

Monday’s spill was not the first to stain this stretch of the Santa Clara River. In January, 1991, nearly 75,000 gallons of crude from a ruptured Mobil Oil pipeline polluted a 15-mile stretch of the river, killing at least 186 birds, wildlife authorities said.

“It’s heartbreaking that the river is taking another blow,” said Cat Brown, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The short-term and long-term effects of a spill this size could spell disaster for that area.”

After the 1991 spill, Mobil contributed $200,000 to environmental projects to settle a criminal complaint arising from the spill.

Gale said she did not know if Arco might be liable for damages from the spill. “We’re only a day and a half into it,” she said. “I don’t feel comfortable making a statement about . . . possible prosecution.”

About 20 Department of Fish and Game staff were monitoring the cleanup. Some were dispatched from the nearby cleanup of McGrath Lake near the mouth of the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, where more than 80,000 gallons of oil spilled from a ruptured pipeline on Christmas Day.

Times correspondent Thom Mrozek contributed to this story.