Long Beach coastline reopens after crews clean tar balls from shore

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A four-mile stretch of Long Beach coastline reopened Friday morning after crews cleaned tar balls that washed up on shore.

The coastline between 1st and 72nd places were shut down after the substance began washing up on shore Wednesday evening.

The material is similar to what's been found at other area beaches. Tar balls were found at Zuma Beach on Tuesday and South Bay beaches were shut down for the same reason just a week ago.

It is not known if the tar balls in Long Beach were linked to the oil spill at Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County in May.

Samples are being tested to determine the tar's composition and where it came from.

Fire officials asked beach visitors to take extra precaution and report sightings of anything unusual to authorities.