SALT LAKE CITY -- An oil leak blackened Red Butte Creek and other Salt Lake waterways Saturday. Residents and animals in the area are feeling the impact.

A black film is covering many of yards along the creek, and in some spots, dead fish have washed up as well.

The first thing people said they noticed Saturday was the smell of oil. Residents said it was so strong, it actually woke a few of them up.

Ralph Riedel was one of those people. "I came down here and saw this beautiful mess," he said. "It looks like the Exxon Valdez spill."

Yards begin to fill with oil

Related:

Massive cleanup effort underway after oil leak in Red Butte Canyon

A massive effort is underway to clean up the damage left behind when a Chevron pipeline leaked up to 21,000 gallons of oil into Salt Lake City waterways Saturday.

Normally, in the Riedels' backyard that Red Butte Creek flows through, you can see fish in crystal clear water. You can still see fish, but the clear water is gone.

"I mean, look at it," said Marina Riedel. "You can see it's like this thick, gelatinous layer. You can see the fish struggling to breathe and swim."

Sometime early Saturday morning when Chevron's pipeline started leaking near Red Butte Canyon, all that crude oil started flowing downstream and through this once beautiful spot.

"It's unbelievable. It's hard to imagine," Ralph Riedel said. "You see the Gulf spill and it seems so far away, and now this is right in my backyard."

One of the big concerns was crude oil getting into the Jordan River, but along 500 South at least, disaster crews have set booms into the water to try and stop the oil.

It seems to be working. The oil is on the left side, but as it makes its way to the boom, less and less of it goes to the right side.

"Right now, they seemed to have contained it here at Liberty Pond. I think the long-term concern is very minimized," said Mike Roach with the Division of Wildlife Resources.

But still, it's going to take a long time to clean up the mess.

Residents react to leak

Gloria Santa Cruz, who lives across from Liberty Park on 1300 South, came home from the Farmers Market to the sight of flashing lights and fire department tape right across the street.

"It's just a little eerie to drive home to this and see things that you only see on the news, in other parts of the country or the world," Santa Cruz said.

A man who came to the park to run but was turned away described the situation as "sobering," both for his use of the park, but also because of the environmental impact.

"This is terrible. It's a catastrophe," said Salt Lake City resident Christian Pulfer.

Pulfer couldn't believe it when he saw so much black oil flowing down Red Butte Creek. He says living so close to it, the smell has already given him a headache.

"The whole neighborhood smells," he said. "Our house smells like somebody poured gasoline on the floor."

Pulfer decided to take a walk to get away from the fumes.

The fish in Riedels' backyard pond, however, couldn't get away that easily. The Riedels fished them out and put them in another pond not attached to the creek. For some fish, it was already too late.

"They were kind of my pets, but not much I can do about it now," Ralph Riedel said.

Officials with the Division of Wildlife Resources say starting Sunday, they will begin an assessment to try and get an idea of the damage to fish along the creek and at Liberty Park.

Liberty Park wildlife covered in oil

Their biggest concern is the geese and ducks that live near the pond.

The leak forced the closure of Liberty Park around 10 a.m., where oil has coated dozens of birds who have made their home on the pond there. Among them are about 150 Canada Geese who were set to be moved to a bird refuge Sunday.

"Virtually every goose has some oil on it," said Tom Aldridge, migratory game bird coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Resources. "A lot of them are just coated from about the water line, but there are a number of birds that started preening and have oil completely covering their bodies."

Aldridge said nearly 100 birds were captured and moved to holding areas at Hogle Zoo, where volunteers have begun cleaning them up.

Some birds needed two or three washings. Veterinarians are concerned young ducklings could have ingested oil.

"We've had a little problem with the very young ducks," said Dr. Nancy Carpenter, associate director of animal health at Hogle Zoo, "the ones that are a week of age. Some are OK, some of them are not. So we are watching them very closely."

A few very young birds did not survive. The birds that do will be checked by veterinarians before being released.

The DWR moves migrating geese from the pond every year and takes them to more outlying wetlands. Aldridge showed up at the park Saturday morning when he smelled and saw the oil, then saw the birds.

"A number of young have been produced here and we're trying to make plans to get them to places that are a bit cleaner to live," he said.

Zoo workers, as well as staff from Tracy Aviary and Wasatch Exotic Pet Care, could spend days cleaning up to 150 birds.

The spill also caused concern at Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park.

"The flamingos have moved inside just as a precaution. We are seeing signs of oil on some of our water," said Tim Brown, executive director of Tracy Aviary.

Aldridge said oil has been detected in the Jordan River and as far away as the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge.

Emergency responders have placed oil-absorbing booms across the rivers and some waterways in hopes of containing the spill.

Dealing with affected animals

The City Emergency Operations Center released tips on how to handle an animal affected by the oil:

• Wear gloves when in contact with the animal
• Prepare warm water and liquid dish soap (not dishwasher soap) in a nearby place or small tub
• Wearing gloves, wash the animal gently
• Call your veterinarian to discuss specific treatment if animal contamination has occurred

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Story compiled with contributions from Alex Cabrero, Marc Giauque, Becky Bruce and Anne Forester.

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