History Of Abandoned Oil Wells - Summerland
Summerland Oil Wells in the 1930s
When it was discovered that Earth had oil among a myriad of other riches, humankind changed forever. Searching for easy profits, men rushed to dig, scrape, sluice, and extract oil from the Earth any way they could. In Southern California, wildcatters discovered oil, literally on the beach.
Oil, oil, everywhere....the black dots are the spots where oil was drilled for in the not-so-good old days
In Summerland, California, they built piers and pumps, and started churning the sea and digging the sand, thereby turning Summerland into an oily mess. Thinking the Earth was infinite, the wildcatters picked up their gear and moved on. State Lands Commission petroleum engineer Steve Curran tells us the oil on and offshore Summerland was, and is, shallow, practically oozing onto the sand, such that old-timers would poke hollow steel pipes into the beach sand and light the natural gas at the top to create torch lights by which they could play ball on the beach at night. These guys were having fun, but this little story illustrates the problem – and challenges – of Summerland. Because of this disrespect for Earth, we now are cleaning up the mess they left behind. We started getting calls from unhappy beach goers and ocean swimmers asking for help in cleaning up the Summerland Beach oil mess. The good news is that we’re getting it done.
Becker Well before capping in 2018. Photos by Nora McNeely Hurley