ANIMAL rescuers are attempting to retrieve pelicans caught up in the oil sludge runoff from this week's fire at Wingfield.

Australian Marine Wildlife Research and Rescue Organisation president said his team had attempted to reach a group of pelicans affected by the sludge but were unsuccessful.

He said two more coots - one dead and one alive - had been recovered today.

Four stricken birds - three coots and a Pacific black duck - were rescued yesterday.

The Environment Protection Authority will issue an update on the clean up efforts this afternoon.

EARLIER

UP to 50 birds could be affected by oil run-off from the Wingfield fire, an environmental group has warned.

Australian Marine Wildlife Research and Rescue Organisation volunteers, with help from Environment Protection Authority staff, yesterday plucked four stricken birds from wetlands near the Mulhern Waste Oil depot ravaged by fire on Tuesday.

The three coots and one Pacific black duck were caught up in oil sludge that was pushed beyond containment lines and into the wetland by Wednesday afternoon's heavy rain.

Australian Marine Wildlife Research and Rescue Organisation president Aaron Machado said there were sightings of at least 15 oil-affected birds yesterday that rescuers could not reach.

"That means there is probably another 30 to 50 other birds that we wouldn't know of that are contaminated," he said.

"It will take some time before they can all be dealt with. They need to turn really sick, so that they can't fly away.

"At the moment, they have oil on their belly but their wings are OK. Once they try and clean that off and ingest that oil, then their kidneys and liver will start to fail.

"Hopefully we get to them before it's too late."

Mr Machado was hopeful the four birds retrieved yesterday would recover but said it was too early to say they would definitely survive. He said he went to the scene about 8pm on Wednesday to find oil running into the wetlands but that authorities did not respond to his calls until the morning.

An EPA spokeswoman said dangerous conditions on Wednesday night meant yesterday morning was the earliest workers could respond.

She said two of three containment lines were breached on Wednesday night, but were re-established yesterday and an extra one added.

About 80 per cent of the more than 300,000 litres of contaminated water created by the fire and heavy storms have been removed.

"This will be a long-term clean-up operation," the spokeswoman said.

Three waste operators are using vacuum tankers to remove the contaminated water from behind containment lines and take it for treatment and disposal.



