Beaches remained closed in Orange County on Tuesday, Oct. 5, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency for an oil spill off the coast of Huntington Beach.

Late Monday, state and federal officials updated the estimated total of the oil leak size to 144,000 gallons — an increase from the initial 126,000 gallons reported early Monday.

“The state is moving to cut red tape and mobilize all available resources to protect public health and the environment,” Newsom said in a statement. “As California continues to lead the nation in phasing out fossil fuels and combating the climate crisis, this incident serves as a reminder of the enormous cost fossil fuels have on our communities and the environment.”

On Monday, a unified command was formed with the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the oil production company Amplify Energy Corp.

On Monday, lightning and a looming thunderstorm halted clean-up efforts at 2:45 p.m. until further notice, according to the city of Huntington Beach. There was no word Tuesday if efforts had resumed.

Despite a short clean up period on Monday, the city of Huntington Beach reported that there were more than a dozen vessels with more than 300 people assisting with the emergency oil spill clean up.

Emergency oil spill clean up efforts netted 3,150 gallons of oil with 5,350 feet of boom, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

While the origin of the leak is still under investigation, the oil production platform Beta, located off the coast of Long Beach, is fed by two pipelines that are located offshore.

This is a developing story.

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