The Refugio Incident: A Wildlife Responders Perspective: Lecture by Elaine Ibarra

On May 19, 2015, a pipeline owned and operated by Plains All America Pipeline ruptured. Over 100,000 gallons of crude oil were spilled, much of which ran down a storm drain and into a ravine under the freeway, with an estimated 21,000 gallons reaching the ocean near Refugio State Beach just north of Santa Barbara. Elaine Ibarra, Director of Animal Care at the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, will speak about the evolution of oil spill response, how that shaped the Refugio incident and her personal experiences during the spill. Beginning with a discussion of historic spills (Valdez and American Trader spills) Ibarra will talk about some of the responding agencies, including the Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the Oiled Wildlife Care Network. She will then discuss the process of responding to a spill and her personal experience with the Refugio incident. Elaine Ibarra graduated from California State University at Channel Islands with a bachelors degree in chemistry and is a trained and experienced oil spill responder. Prior to joining the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, she had extensive volunteer experience with the Channel Islands Marine and Wildlife Institute, the Ojai Raptor Center and the International Bird Rescue Research Center. She believes strongly in life-long continuing education, attending 2-3 symposia every year and maintaining working relationships with other wildlife rehabilitators and wildlife veterinarians throughout the state of California. Since 2000, the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum has featured many artifacts and stories to share the history of the Santa Barbara Channel with more than 40,000 visitors annually and provides year-round experiential maritime history and marine science education for local youth. Featuring the impressive First-Order Fresnel Lighthouse Lens from Point Conception, SBMM’s current exhibits explore the History of Oil in Santa Barbara Channel & Chumash Use of Asphaltum, the Honda Disaster, and Wives and Daughters: Keepers of the Light. SBMM is located at the historic Santa Barbara Harbor at 113 Harbor Way, Suite 190, Santa Barbara, CA 93109. Visit sbmm.org or call (805) 962-8404 for details.