A fire broke out on an oil platform along Southern California‘s coast early Monday, briefly endangering more than two dozen workers aboard the offshore rig.
Emergency crews were able to safely evacuate the 26 workers on Platform Habitat, an oil rig about eight miles offshore from Carpinteria, though two minor injuries were reported, according to Petty Officer Kenneth Wiese, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard established a 1,000 yard perimeter around the platform to maintain safety, and are working with local fire departments to douse the flames, Weise said just before noon Monday.
“There was and is a fire currently on board that’s being battled,” Wiese said.
It wasn’t immediately clear if there were concerns about a oil or natural gas spills, or any other hazard.
Images from the scene shared by the U.S. Coast Guard showed firefighting boats blasting streams of water onto the platform, which was shrouded in black and gray smoke around 11:30 a.m. Monday.
Calls about a fire or possible explosion on Platform Habitat came in around 7 a.m. Monday, Wiese said. The fire was still not under control as of 11:30 a.m.
Platform Habitat, also known as the Pitas Point Unit, is an offshore rig located in the Santa Barbara Channel. It was built in 1981 and began pumping crude in 1983, and according to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which regulates oil rigs located in federal waters.
It is owned and operated by DCOR LLC, a West Coast-based oil and gas company. Calls to the company about the incident were not immediately answered.
It wasn’t immediately clear the extent of the platform’s current operations, but in its lifetime, Habitat has produced mostly natural gas — more than 232 million cubic feet — and a relatively meager showing of crude oil, under 250,000 barrels, according to federal records.
Crews from the Ventura and Santa Barbara county fire departments along with Coast Guard personnel were at the scene.
