SUNNYSIDE — Rescuers are caring for seven ducks that were found covered with oil after a spill of used motor oil into irrigation ditches and the Yakima River near Sunnyside.
The Anacortes company Focus Wildlife was hired to pick up, clean and care for oily birds until they could be released back into the wild. Four birds were found dead.
The Tri-City Herald newspaper reports rescuers have their eye on a couple of dozen oily geese. They have to be carefully captured to prevent them from becoming too wary or dying of exhaustion. Rescued birds could spend weeks at a rehabilitation station.
Meanwhile, a cleanup contractor hired by the Ecology Department is collecting oily debris from as much as 2,200 gallons of oil that leaked Sunday from an old storage tank.
