Oil from a sunken Japanese fishing vessel has fouled 55 miles of coastline along Washington's evergreen-covered Olympic Peninsula, and wildlife rescuers said Tuesday the toll to marine life is expected to grow.
National Park Service spokesman Bob Appling warned the oil could eventually spread to Oregon, about 125 miles south of the sunken ship."The predominant current at this time of year is south, and that's where it's headed," he said.
State officials in Oregon were alerted that oil could drift south of the Columbia River, the waterway separating the western portions of the two states, by the end of the week.
Washington Gov. Booth Gardner visited the area Monday, but aides said the governor decided it was too early to declare a disaster.
Officials estimated 100,000 gallons of oil had leaked from the 365-foot Tenyo Maru, which was rammed July 22 by the 610-foot Chinese grain vessel Tou Hai near the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca separating Canada's Vancouver Island from Washington state.
The Japanese ship, resting on the ocean floor 500 feet below the surface, was carrying about 275,000 gallons of bunker fuel oil and 91,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
The Canadian Coast Guard said a three-man submarine would be sent in by Wednesday to study whether the flow of oil could be plugged.
Tides and winds pushed the oil ashore along 55 miles of beach, mostly on the Makah Indian Reservation, but also on Shi Shi Beach, a popular camping area for hikers in the Olympic National Forest, state Department of Ecology officials said.
A slick 70 miles long by 4 miles wide was visible in the water and globs of oil were collecting on once-pristine beaches.
State wildlife and ecology officials said about 150 birds had been killed by the oil, and another 500 birds coated with the gooey muck had been rescued.
Only 10 to 15 percent of the fouled birds are expected to survive, Ecology Department officials said.
The entire rugged coastline from Neah Bay south to the Hoh River is the longest and one of the most scenic stretches of wilderness beach left in the continental United States.