Oil spill that started at former Olympia brewery has closed Tumwater Falls Park, created slick on Capitol Lake
An oil spill that started Monday at the former Olympia Brewing Co. property south of Custer Way has led to the closure of Tumwater Falls Park and a cleanup effort that stretches from the brewery to Capitol Lake.
“We are asking the public to honor this closure, as well as the closure of the trail at the Capitol Campus Interpretive Center,” the state Department of Ecology announced.
Ecology said the oil spill is now controlled, but the spill response is expected to last into the weekend.
The brewery property south of Custer Way was vandalized late Monday after some vandals, reportedly trying to recover copper wire from a transformer along Boston Street, damaged it to the extent that it leaked transformer oil. And that leak eventually found its way to the Deschutes River, Tumwater spokeswoman Ann Cook said this week.
The transformer held 677 gallons of oil; however, Ecology officials said they weren’t sure how much oil has spilled.
The spill does not pose an immediate public health threat, according to state Department of Health toxicologist Barb Morrissey.
