Santa Barbara oil spill turns picturesque coastline into a graveyard for wildlife

The picturesque coastline near Santa Barbara has become a graveyard for wildlife after an underground pipeline leaked thousands of gallons of crude oil into local waters earlier this week. Fish, squid, seals and even pelicans were left dying on the beach, with local residents attempting to help the varied species that were still alive. Speaking to the HuffingtonPost, Shayne Tuthill said: "It was really sad to see the seal because it came to shore and couldn't breathe or swim. The pelican was alive at one point. It landed, but it was consumed by the oil... and died."

The operator of the pipeline warned it could take weeks or even months before investigators find what caused the disaster. Bad weather slowed cleanup efforts early Friday at the spill site, where gusty winds whipped up waves as high as 4 feet, the National Weather Service said. Several days of calm seas had helped crews, but oil-skimming vessels were brought in late Thursday.

An estimated 105,000 gallons of crude spilled on Tuesday, and about 21,000 gallons is believed to have made it to the sea and split into slicks that stretched 9 miles along the coast. As of Thursday, more than 9,000 gallons had been raked, skimmed and vacuumed up, officials said.

A bird covered in oil flaps its wings at Refugio State Beach, north of Goleta, Calif., Thursday, May 21, 2015

An oil-covered lobster lies dead on the beach after an oil spill near Refugio State Beach on May 20, 2015 north of Goleta, California

A worker displays a dead fish as crews from West Coast Environmental bag oiled sand at Refugio State Beach Wednesday morning, May 20, 2015, after a ruptured pipeline near Santa Barbara leaked an estimated 21,000 gallons of crude oil

A sea lion covered in oil struggles on the beach just west of El Refugio state beach, about 100 feet from where the oil spill flowed into the ocean near Santa Barbara May 21, 2015 in Los Angeles, California

Seagulls gather on the shoreline at El Capitan State Beach on May 21, 2015 near Santa Barbara, California

Oil soaked kelp and oil sheen as cleanup effort continues on the beach in Santa Barbara, Calif., on May 20, 2015