A massive sheet of oil washed up on Sands Beach and Coal Oil Point near UC Santa Barbara last week, lining the tide with black tar.
“I'm not sure of the cause or source, but I did see some snowy plovers with light oiling,” said Armando Aispuro, resource manager at Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve.
Almost as soon as the sheet appeared, it was gone. It was first noticed on Friday afternoon. By this Monday, it had all been sucked back into the ocean.