Douglas Waited 3 Hours to Disclose Spill, Long Beach Fire Chief Says

Douglas Aircraft Co. failed to disclose a 16,000-gallon jet fuel spill for three hours, and the delay may have worsened environmental damage to a Long Beach flood control channel, emergency officials said.

Nearly five miles of the channel was contaminated in the Christmas Eve spill, killing at least 15 birds and other wildlife and threatening others, officials said.

“Maybe if we had been notified quicker, we could have helped get the area boomed quicker,” Fire Chief Harold Omel said Friday. “We could have facilitated things. The more people that get involved in a major spill like this, the sooner you can stop the problem and the sooner you can start the cleanup.”

Douglas spokesman John Thom said workers underestimated the volume of fuel involved and thought they could contain it without outside assistance.

He also said Douglas’ environmental services supervisor, Dave Ganoung, contacted the state office of emergency services about the spill, which the company estimated at 16,000 gallons.

Douglas’ Control Center log indicates the spill was discovered at 9:30 p.m. by a security officer.

But Omel said the Fire Department contacted Douglas about 11 p.m. after receiving calls from residents who live near the flood control channel.

“We don’t have any records of their claim that they called us,” Omel said. “If they had notified the Fire Department, they would be off the hook.”

Douglas and the state Department of Fish and Game are both investigating the spill.