By Julia Reynolds
The Monterey County Herald
MONTEREY, Calif. — A mysterious asphalt-like substance washed up on Monterey Peninsula beaches Monday night, local firefighters reported, and the Coast Guard believes it may be the same material that popped up on San Francisco Bay Area beaches earlier in the day.
The substance was fairly rigid, said Monterey Fire Battalion Chief David Totter, whose department was on scene at Monterey’s Del Monte Beach late Monday.
Citizens had called Monterey, Pacific Grove and Carmel Fire departments to report the substance around 8:30 p.m., Totter said.
The fire departments “were made aware of some substance on the beach by citizens, that there was a petroleum-type residue washing up on some of the beaches,” Totter said.
He said the substance was not sticky and did not appear likely to stick to birds or other wildlife.
“It’s more of a semi-rigid petroleum-asphalt type product, but we don’t know what it is yet,” he said.
The material was discovered on Del Monte, Asilomar and Carmel beaches, and state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection workers were dispatched to the Carmel River, he said.
Firefighters reported finding a large amount of the material on the beaches.
“In the reports that I saw, in a 10- to 15-foot section, there might be 10 to 15 chunks of the stuff,” Totter said.
Totter said around 9:45 p.m. Monday that the Coast Guard was investigating the matter, but it wasn’t yet clear which agency would analyze the mysterious chunks to find out what they are made of.
“I’m not sure where the answers are going to come from,” he said. “But there is nothing right now that they’re any direct, immediate danger to citizens.”
Coast Guard crews were expected to begin cleaning up the material this morning.
A Coast Guard lieutenant in San Francisco said late Monday that the service was working on the Monterey case and was also investigating tar-like balls that had earlier washed up on San Francisco Bay Area beaches.
“Current indication lead us to believe it is a similar material,” the officer said.
Earlier on Monday, beaches in Pacifica and at Moss Beach’s Fitzgerald Marine Reserve were closed when many tar-like balls, ranging from the size of a quarter to the width of a hubcap, washed up along the coast, according to San Mateo County officials.
The source of the material, first thought to be remnants of the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay, became more of a mystery as the day wore on and the Coast Guard received reports of thick, coagulated “patties” washing up on beaches farther south.
Lab results from the Bay Area beaches are expected to be in today.
Copyright 2008 Monterey County Herald