Crews on the water and on shore worked feverishly to limit environmental damage from one of the largest oil spills in recent California history.

Cleanup contractors deploy skimmers and floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further oil crude incursion into the Wetlands Talbert Marsh in Huntington Beach. (AP)

People said they noticed an oil sheen and smell of petroleum Friday evening, but it wasn’t until Saturday afternoon that the Coast Guard said an oil slick had been spotted.

A staff at the California Department Fish & Wildlife examines a contaminated Sanderling from the oil spill in Huntington Beach, California. (AP)

Amplify Energy CEO Martyn Willsher said Sunday that divers were still trying to determine exactly where the leak occurred in its underwater Southern California pipeline. The pipeline and three oil platforms it serves have been shut down.

Oil washes up on Huntington Beach, California. (AP)

Photos show patches of oil coating the sand, signs warning people to stay off the beach and cleanup contractors in white outfits using skimmers and barriers to try to contain and clean the spill.

Cleanup contractors deploy skimmers and floating barriers to try to stop further oil crude incursion into the Wetlands Talbert Marsh in Huntington Beach, California. (AP)

The oil will likely continue to wash up on the shore in several communities for days, officials said. Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said the city’s beaches could remain closed for weeks or even months.

Cleanup contractors deploy skimmers and floating barriers to try to stop further oil crude incursion into the Wetlands Talbert Marsh in Huntington Beach, California. (AP)

The area affected by the latest spill is home to threatened and endangered species, including a plump shorebird called the snowy plover, the California least tern and humpback whales.

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