'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
The amount of crude oil spilled in an offshore pipeline leak in Southern California is believed to be close to 25,000 gallons, or only about one-fifth of what officials initially feared, a Coast Guard official said Thursday.
The leak off the coast of Orange County was previously estimated to be at least 25,000 gallons (94,635 liters) and no more than 132,000 gallons (499,674 liters). The final count for the spill will likely be closer to the lower figure, which correlates with the amount of oiling seen on the California shore, Coast Guard Capt. Rebecca Ore said.
"We have a high degree of confidence that the spill amount is approximately 588 barrels," she told reporters in Newport Beach. "That number may potentially adjust a small degree."
The spill off Huntington Beach was confirmed Oct. 2, a day after residents reported a petroleum smell in the area.
Coast Guard officials said it came from a leak in a pipeline owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp. that shuttles crude from offshore platforms to the coast. Officials said the cause of the leak remains under investigation, but the pipeline was likely damaged by a ship's anchor several months to a year before it ruptured.
The shorelines in Huntington Beach, which is known as "Surf City USA," and neighboring Newport Beach were shut down until Monday. Coastal shops have taken a hit, and environmental advocates have voiced concerns about the long-term impact of the spill on sensitive wetland areas and wildlife.
More than four dozen animals, mostly birds and fish, have been found dead since the spill, though not all were visibly oiled, according to the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.
A stranded dolphin in distress was found late Wednesday in nearby Los Angeles County and euthanized, said Eric Laughlin, a state Fish and Wildlife spokesman. The cause of death has yet to be determined, and it's unknown if the animal was affected by the spill, he said.
Since the spill, fishing has been barred off the coast of Orange County. State officials are taking samples of fish to assess whether they have been affected by the oil before allowing fishing to resume.
Workers in protective gear continue to comb the sand for tar balls washing ashore along more than 70 miles (113 kilometers) of coastline in Orange and San Diego counties. Roy Kim, an environmental scientist with California's Office of Spill Prevention and Response, said the size of tar balls being collected on beaches has diminished from the early days after the spill.
"They were seeing huge patties of oil in the beginning," Kim said, adding that the oil slick has largely been broken up into tar balls by the tides and winds. "Now you're just kind of seeing the smaller stuff."
Crews are also working to remove oil from rocky coastal habitat while being careful not to damage it, he said.
Oil is naturally present off the coast of Southern California, and residents are used to seeing tar on beaches, California Fish and Wildlife Lt. Christian Corbo said. Tar samples collected in the cleanup will be sent to a state petroleum chemistry lab to determine whether they are from the spill, he said.
In the coming days, workers will likely start assessing beach conditions in specific areas to determine whether the cleanup is complete, Ore said.
While it's still possible tar balls will wash up from the spill after that point -- and officials will continue to respond to reports that come in -- "at some point, and we're evaluating this right now, we reach a point where we recommend no further treatment on segments of the beach," she said.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.