At 12:27 a.m., on March 24, 1989, the oil tanker radioed the Coast Guard and said that the Exxon-Valdez was grounded on Bligh Reef and was leaking oil. When the cleanup team finally got to the spill, a tremendous amount of oil had already spilled from the tanker. No matter how hard the cleanup team tried to clear up the oil, the tanker kept leaking more and more oil. The oil spread and spread. The last of the oil washed up 550 miles from where the Exxon-Valdez was grounded. Many animal species were hurt by the oil spill. About 7000 sea otters died, and about 100,000 sea birds died. In the end, 627 birds and almost 200 otters were saved. There was a trial, because people in the city saw Captain Hazelwood drinking. He was found not guilty on all charges except negligent discharge of oil.

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