On May 19, 2015, the Plains All American Pipeline ruptured and spilled 142,000 gallons of crude oil onto a Gaviota hillside, 21,000 of which made its way into the Pacific Ocean. Known as the Refugio Incident oil spill for the rupture’s proximity to Refugio State Beach, the spill covered the largely-undeveloped Gaviota coast with tar balls and created a three-mile-wide oil sheen offshore. I spent the morning of May 20 assisting reporter Shirin Rajaee, then of Santa Barbara’s KEYT News, with live coverage of the spill.