Oil-covered birds rescued after pipeline rupture sends crude oil into L.A. River
Key takeaways
- It was not immediately clear how many birds had been affected.
- Friday near East Cesar Chavez and North Eastern avenues, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
- A telecommunications crew boring a 6-inch hole 10 feet underground to lay fiber-optic cable hit a pipeline that runs beneath the street and transports crude oil from Kern County to the Port of Los Angeles, L.A.
Workers inspect a crosswalk near the site of an underground pipeline rupture in East Los Angeles that led to a crude oil spill on Friday. (On Scene.TV) By Hailey Branson-Potts Staff Writer Follow May 24, 2026 6:43 PM PT 2 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Wildlife officials said this weekend that they had found multiple birds covered in oil after the rupture of an East Los Angeles pipeline on Friday caused crude oil to spill into storm drains and flow into the Los Angeles River.
The birds were removed from the river and taken to the Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care & Education Center in San Pedro to be treated and cleaned, according to a statement Saturday from the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, a collective of wildlife emergency response organizations and universities.