California's Dirty Secret: Exploring the Lakeview Gusher, Biggest Accidental Oil Spill in History 

Hi Wonderhussy, this is Mark and I lived and grew up in Bakersfield. I’m the one who sent you sunglasses from the Corn Palace. I worked 10 years in the oil patch and you are right outside of the town or Maricopa. The oil company you pointed to at the beginning of the video was Berry Holding Oil Company when I worked out there. Next time you are in Bakersfield, I suggest you take the time and go to the Kern County Museum located on No. Chester. Years ago Chevron built a multi million dollar oil exhibit at the museum and even tho I worked in the oilfields for years, I learned a lot more going through the exhibit. Oil derricks were the permanent wooden structures built over every hole drilled and the big units going up and down are pumping units or producers. You are also very close to the Purina and Johnny Cat kitty litter factories. My understanding is that it one of the best places in the country to make kitty litter. Great video as usual

Oil is also extremely hot When it comes out of the Ground. You don’t want to Be near it when it goes Off!! Great story Sarah😎

You have become an addiction....a very nice one...I look forward to Wednesdays...you make an old man smile....Good Job

And just when you think Wonderhussy has made every kind of abandoned desert video, we get the pimple popping gusher saga!

In 1909, gasoline was about 4.5 cents per gallon, and was sold in glass jars.Most of the oil was used for lubrication at that time, as there were few cars as yet.

A barrel as a measurement is 42 gallons. 55 gallons is a commercial drum.

The horsey-looking things that go up and down are referred to as "pumping units" . Blow out preventers are known as "BOPs" and then there's "sucker rod", "polish rod" and "pump jacks" all related to pumping oil. There's an old pump jack out in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma that's been in operation since 1959! It looks like it should have fallen apart fifty years ago, but it keeps going!

Being from Texas I found this video very entertaining. Its a pumpjack. The weird thing that goes up and down that looks like a rocking horse or grass hopper. Now days they take many precautions and drilling for oil is not the hazard some may want you to believe it is.

Hey Sarah - I just wanted to inform you that now that you are no longer a Las Vegan, and are now officially a T-Town girl, you cannot (by law) call it “hot” or complain about the “heat” until the temperature officially exceeds 115 degrees. Just thought you might want to know about that. Stay cool! 😎

I remember seeing them all around here in Southern California back in the 70’s and some were set up to look like big grasshoppers with antennas and painted on eyes.

Lived in Cali and went to school there till I was 16, never heard about this incident once! Thanks for the history lesson. 8:55

My High School Yearbook was Black Gold, and our colors were Black and Gold! Ventura was quite the oil town and they still have the oil rigs out in the Santa Barbara Channel, nearby.

Great episode. Glad you pointed out that the oil was in fact naturally occurring. We sometimes lose sight of that fact when it comes to spills.

I learn new things from you every time I watch you videos

Thanks for unknown California history. You are one great reporter. Keep up the good work.

You are a great "Story Teller" I always enjoy, Thank you.

Oil was first discovered in Pennsylvania 1859, which brought an end to the commercial whaling industry. Imagine that.

Oils well that ends well Lol

Wow and yikes and wow really enjoyed this video on 76 native California and never heard of that oil spill. Thank you darling for all that information you're such an educational teacher. And a Explorer

Crunchy peanut butter on warm toast, black coffee and Wonderhussey video.

Used to ride pumping units when I was a kid. There called pumping units. ❤ wonderhussy.

Jed Clampett would be so envious. 😁

Great history lesson on that area.

Oil is all over the place in Ventura - Santa Barbara - Kern county . Some Farms ranches pump oil and if you don't pump it out some times it just seeps out by its self . Oil leaks out the side of the mountain on HWY 150 smells like rotten eggs . The road is closed from last years storms but they are working on it .

The Derricks are the tall towers. They facilitate the actual drilling process. The moving pumps are called pumpjacks, among other names.

Used to work electrical there in the late 80s and those pipes are for steam injection. Worked at the Exxon Formax.

Wow! Your narrative was fantastic. You're a natural at story telling and entertaining. Great work!

When you have the time take a look at the 2007 movie, "There Will Be blood" which is tale oil and corruption in California derived from an Upton Sinclair novel "Oil".

The Steampunk devices you mentioned are called pumpjacks. They're everywhere down south where I'm from. Enjoy seeing your videos! Hydrate!!!!

Great episode,wonderhussy you break 💔 my heart I live thirty five minutes away and my parents were from close to where the spill was, could have shared more.👍🇺🇸

FYI: Gas was .25 cents a gallon in the 1950's. AND, gas stations gave away S & H Green Stamps, or pieces of tea sets, or 6-pack soda, or many other items that were used to attract customers.

Well done history lesson as always! ❤

Hey sweetie! The fact all that oil was spilled with out killing the planet should make some tree huggers think 🤔

Sarah coors light is the silver bullet. That was a coors regular. Rick Amarillo texas.

I always enjoy your posts and commentary Wonderhussy. Thank you!

The seesaw deally is an oil pump jack.

Loving your show is easy because you make it very simple!

Cerro Gordo is cool this time of year. When are you going to spend time at your mother's place in northern CA?

It’s 118 in Vegas today

Fascinating information Sarah. Thanks

Your videos are my comfort watches. On a day when I'm not feeling well and laying up in bed, watching your adventures is so comforting and takes my mind off feeling like crap. I think me and you are the only people on earth who still say GAAAAAWLEEE! 😂 Thank you Wonderhussy!😊

I love your channel, I have learned soo much from you. Thank you for all the information you include in your videos. 😊

Somehow you make the most mundane subjects ultra-fascinating. Great video!

Hey Wonderhussy - As someone who worked in the oilfields west of Bakersfield for about 2 years, we called those mechanical thingys "above-ground pumping units." In Texas, they call 'em "pumpjacks." They stuck the oil out of the ground and into storage tanks. Hope you enjoyed our heat!

Fabulous as always!once again demonstrating your incredible story telling style presentation! ❤👍

Hi Sarah. I was just watching your vid on the Shingles on your backside. I can help you prevent it from happening again!!! The skin has its own immune system that is apart from all of the other immune systems in the body. When someone develops a skin infection (of any kind), it is a broken enzyme chain that is almost always responsible!!! 99% of the time it is the Amino Acid---L Lysine link in that Enzyme chain that is broken. Go to the Pharmacy, and in the OTC section, get a couple of bottles of L-Lysine. Take 4 pills in the morning, and 4 pills in the evening until the Shingles rash disappears. Then as a daily supplement, take 2 in the morning, and 2 in the evening, and the Shingles should stay away for good. The reason Shingles got you right at this spot is most likely because of the rubbing right there in the first place. The Lysine should do the trick---STAY SAFE OUT THERE!!! Don't run yourself down!!! You seem to me to be a perfectly wonderful person to me!!!

Union Oil's first oil wells south of Orcutt, CA, gushed for three years before getting pumps. Single 12" diameter cylinder diesel fired once every three minutes on filtered crude oil, huge flywheel ran pump between unmuffeled exhaust explosions.

I'll bet you're near Taft California thanks

Great video Sarah you are an AWESOME person Thank you for taking us along Stay COLD in your travels🥶

Another interesting video detailing a nearby historical event. Thanks Wonderhussy!

The first drilled oil well was at Oil City, PA near Titusville, PA about fifteen years before Spindletop.

Thank you Wonderhussy, your vids are educational as well as adventurous!

I Worked In Those Oil Fields In 78 79 .......

Black gold, Texas tea. In this case cali tea

97 degrees is nothing for Death Valley. A day or so ago it was like 131. I want to hear how you survived that? 😰

Another great historical video. Never heard of this before. Great find WH.😊

I grew up and lived in Bakersfield for many years myself. The devices you are pointing out at the start of the video are not derricks, they are pumping units (I made my living as a software engineer supporting oil exploration and production for...a long time). The pumping unit is connected to a pump far underground by a stack of rods (you can see the rod attached to the head of the unit going up and down) just like any other old fashioned pump: the rod goes up and down and the oil pumps up and out. Derricks were the frameworks (originally wood, later steel) erected over the site of a well for supporting the drilling equipment. They could be left in place or dismantled after drilling was complete. Later the companies figured out it was simpler and cheaper to use a portable drilling rig that they could move from location to location and not have to build or dismantle anything. You still see old ones from time to time that were left in place back in the day. Oil exploration and production in Kern County and the Bakersfield area goes back well over 100 years. Thanks for all the videos over time; I haven't watched one for a while, then when RU-vid showed me the Lakeview Gusher and it was your video, I had to watch. I learned about the Gusher back in junior high in a local history class.

I think the Deepwater Horizon gusher in the bottom Gulf of Mexico that polluted everything and created by Halliburton was bigger or more destructive than this.

Thanks for another fascinating video. I’d never heard of this before, and I can’t wrap my mind around the amount of oil spilled or the time it went on. Amazing!

This was more interesting than just another hot spring . Thank you for pursuing everything & anything odd , unusual , different or strange. There's a finite number of hot springs but you'll never run out of content . Happy trails .

Howdy Sarah! You stay safe ok. Thanks for taking us along! 😉

I just love Wonderhussy Wednesdays and Fridays 🥰 Nothing weird about you sweets!!! 😉 I love all these places you visit and share with us--all right up my alley too as the old saying goes. Californian here too who never heard of this story before, although I've been to Bakersfield many times over the years. I would like to visit this site myself one day. Out here in California and the West in general, you will never run out of content for your videos. Thanks again Sarah and keep 'em coming! Please stay safe as you travel and by all means, have fun! 🤗♥️

Can relate to your comment about getting your phone heated up too much. Got myself one of those phone mounts that clips directly onto the A/C vent on my dash. It works wonders getting the phone to cool down.

I remember early 60s gas was 16.9 cents a gallon.

I worked in those oilfields. We called the horse looking things pumping units, aka iron trees. They're about the only shade.

Thank You WonderHussy ♥ Also, thank you for questioning misinformation. There are hundreds of internet images of pump jacks labeled as derricks. An oil Derrick is the tall structure used to drill the original well to the underground reservoir of oil.. Once the oil is reached, a Pump Jack ( the dinosaur structure ) is installed to bring the oil to the surface. I lived near Santa Barbara long ago, and tar balls from off shore oil reservoirs would occasionally wash ashore. Old timers told me that prior to the installation of the off shore oil fields, much more 'natural' oil / tar balls washed up along the shore.

THANK YOU SARAH AND ANOTHER GREAT,FASCINATING VIDEO,,SAFE TRAVELS..

California...huge and mysterious.

Very cool. Never heard of the gusher before. Thank you!

"TOP OF YOUR GAME". good job as always thank you stay safe ALL

Great video. Another place/incident I've never heard of before.

Coors Banquet Beer can. 😂 Fantastic video as usual. 👍❤️👍

Hey wonderhussy great video I love exploring places like that that's a great piece of California history your biggest RU-vid fan Randy from Kentucky.

You make all things interesting. 😊

I drive thru this area often for work, I also am a huge Jimmy / James Dean fan! Isn't it strange that Jimmy became a huge star after only 3 films ? And in GIANT he became a oil baron mogul and he died literally a few miles from this gusher! In fact he had to drive by here just minutes before he died😢

Thanks for sharing another fun adventure and history lesson your the best stay safe and hydrated 🎉

At the time I am watching this video, oil is going for $82.40 a barrel.

You are a 100% desert Queen!

Awesome video

The pumping units are also called "pump jacks". That's how I know them as. As a kid in SoCal, I saw those pumps and thought they resembled praying mantises.

GOOGLE officially says ( not sure ) that a "barrel" of oil is 42 gallons.

Very interesting!!!!

While you are in the oil country, you should do a bit on Merle Haggard.

She made it sooo exciting!

Thanks for sharing 😁

Beautiful pump jack( the large metal rocking horse)

Love the oil blubbing effects. You're tough, just enough for the wild places

Someone needs to tell nomadic fanatic this is how you make a great video by going places that are interesting love all your videos

Thank you for sharing this video

Yay, Wonderhussy! We all love you! Yes, we love our deserts and oil fields ! You are a courageous woman. God bless you! (Love you)

thanks fantastic video love it

THAT WAS REALLY COOL ,I LIKED IT

So interesting!👍🏼😃🛢

Great video

Girl, you are the best!!

"Donkey" is a term for the reciprocating wellhead pumps. (Drive SR 198 W of Coalinga and you can find them painted as a variety of other creatures as well)

I love that too Sarah, I like that history, man -/that is great😊!

Awesome!

This is a great video, as usual, Sarah. I learn more US history from you than I probably got from my teachers in school.

Always great to see you and see your show! Yipes! Mother Gusher! If'n y'all wanna see a great movie where the Iraqi oil wells are depicted burning - and it's a STUNNER - Watch 'Jar Head'!