Quake-Related Oil Spill’s Impact Worse

More oil from an earthquake-ruptured pipeline oozed into the Santa Clara River than initially believed, causing a deadly impact on the area’s wildlife.

So far, the carcasses of 65 oiled birds, reptiles and mammals have been found in the ecologically sensitive area. But biologists say many small birds such as finches, gnatcatchers, vireos and orioles that die from the oil by ingestion or hypothermia will fly away and not be found.

Additionally, larger birds of prey that feed on oiled fish or rodents or become sullied with oiled feathers often fly miles from the site before they are overcome with illness.

“This spill is having a greater effect on wildlife than the numbers of dead animals indicate,” Bob Schlichting, a spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game, said Friday. “We may never get the numbers of all the affected birds.

The oil escaped from an Atlantic Richfield Co. pipeline in Valencia that ruptured in the 6.6-magnitude earthquake on Jan. 17 and traveled down a 12-mile stretch of the Santa Clara River.