When a 47-foot boat caught fire in Westsound on Feb. 20, spilling 50 gallons into the harbor, Islands’ Oil Spill Association responders were on the scene to contain the damage.

The vessel had 250 gallons of fuel on board before it sank, most of which was consumed in the fire. IOSA was on stand-by while the vessel was still at the dock, but when its lines burned, drifted a mile off shore, and began to sink, the organization went into action.

Responders were on the scene within 10 minutes. Eight people from Orcas and three from Lopez worked on the cleanup for several days.

“People came so quickly and easily,” IOSA director Julie Knight said. “Some came without even being asked – they just heard about it. We have that happen a fair amount without people being called and for that to occur over and over for more than 20 years, that is not luck.”

When Orcas has an oil spill to clean up, there is only one local organization to call: IOSA.

“We have trained responders from all the islands, and we respond to spills wherever they happen in San Juan County,” IOSA coordinator Jackie Wolf said.

Although the main office is based in Friday Harbor, IOSA has oil spill containment and wildlife search and rescue equipment stationed on Orcas, Lopez, San Juan, and Stuart. Sucia is slated to have equipment put in place this spring.

IOSA is run by Wolf and Knight, and supported by a dedicated legion of trained responders from throughout the county who head out to a spill any time of day or night – for very little pay.

Of the 170 trained responders in San Juan County, 40 are from Orcas. The IOSA board members from Orcas include Gretchen Berger, Bill Glass, Eric Lum, Wally Lum, and Miles McCoy.

At the Westsound spill site, they set 800 feet of boom around the area where the vessel sank in 60 feet of water, and put sorbent materials inside the boom to collect any pollutants. The group worked from 3:30 to 9 p.m.

The following day, responders checked the shore, which was found to be clean. Around 10 gallons of engine oil was recovered in the sorbents and also stuck to the sides of the boom.

On the third day of cleanup, there was still a visible oil sheen, but the remaining diesel was unrecoverable, so the spill containment boom was removed and all 800 feet was cleaned by hand as it was being loaded back into the trailer. The fuel left in the water will dissipate naturally over time with wind and sun and was not expected to reach the shoreline.

From the beginning of 2000 through March 3, 2009, IOSA has been paged 51 times regarding spills in areas around Orcas Island, with 14 of those calls requiring containment, cleanup of toxic materials, prevention of a spill, and wildlife search and rescue.

Last September Knight was presented with the 2008 Legacy Award at the annual meeting of the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force.

A task force spokesperson said, “IOSA’s grassroots volunteer efforts have evolved into a sophisticated oil and hazardous materials spill response network protecting an ecologically sensitive archipelago that is home to a resident orca population, among other endangered and threatened species.”

IOSA is the only private, non-profit, community-based spill response and prevention organization in the San Juans – and the Pacific Northwest.

It holds several training sessions and drills each year; interested community members are encouraged to sign up. Its next round of classes will be on Orcas this fall.

“All the responders enjoy knowing that they are doing something really useful for the islands,” Knight says. “The kind of people that are attracted to IOSA are inspired by that. It’s about taking care of your home and where you live. The natural world is a huge part of where we live. Over the years people have told me it is something they love so much, that they want to take care of it. We’ve always had the nicest, kindest people working for IOSA. The spirit of it is so positive.”