Oil rig off Southern California coast catches fire; 'no immediate threat' to environment, officials say

Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times on May 11, 2026

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LOS ANGELES — A fire broke out on an inactive oil platform along Southern California’s coast early Monday, briefly endangering more than two dozen workers aboard the offshore rig.

Emergency crews were able to safely evacuate the 26 workers on Platform Habitat, an oil rig about eight miles offshore from Carpinteria, though two minor injuries were reported, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The platform was in the process of being decommissioned when some gas leaked and caught fire around 7 a.m. Monday, according to Petty Officer Richard Uranga, spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard. He said crews were able to quickly close a safety valve, halting the gas leak and limiting the extent of the fire.

The fire was contained and the incident secured by about 11 a.m., Uranga said.

Still, he said the Coast Guard is continuing to check on any possible safety and environmental issues from the leak and fire, having established a 1,000-yard perimeter around the platform.

But as of Monday afternoon, Uranga said there was “no immediate threat” to the environment or the public.

Images from the scene shared by the U.S. Coast Guard showed firefighting boats blasting streams of water onto the platform, which was shrouded in black and gray smoke around 11:30 a.m. Monday.

Platform Habitat, also known as the Pitas Point Unit, is an offshore rig in the Santa Barbara Channel. It was built in 1981 and began pumping crude in 1983, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which regulates oil rigs located in federal waters.

Its lease to produce oil and gas expired in 2016, according to Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement records.

It is owned and operated by DCOR LLC, a West Coast-based oil and gas company. Calls to the company about the incident were not immediately answered.

During its lifetime, Habitat has produced mostly natural gas — more than 232 million cubic feet — and a relatively meager showing of crude oil, less than 250,000 barrels, according to federal records.

Crews from the Ventura and Santa Barbara county fire departments responded to the incident along with the Coast Guard.

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