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International Bird Rescue volunteers clean a pelican during the 1971 San Francisco Bay oil spill. (Courtesy photo)
International Bird Rescue celebrates golden anniversary
FAIRFIELD January marked the 50th anniversary of the devastating oil spill that fouled the San Francisco Bay, killing thousands of seabirds. It was a tragic event that spawned the creation of a new branch of environmental science that continues to evolve today here in Solano County.
Two Standard Oil tankers – the Arizona Standard and the Oregon Standard – collided in the bay near the Golden Gate Bridge on an early foggy morning, Jan. 18, 1971.
The collision resulted in 800,000 gallons of caustic, sticky crude staining the bay and surrounding beaches and in its wake, created a wildlife emergency like no other that led to the formation of International Bird Rescue in Berkeley.