Crews were still working this week to clean up thousands of gallons of diesel fuel that spilled from a tanker truck into a large bird sanctuary in the San Diego River near Old Town. Morena Boulevard’s bridge above the river, and the ramps to and from I-8 were reopened today, according to San Diego police and the California Highway Patrol. Alex Bell, of the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health, said it could take up to a month to clean the mess. About 3,700 gallons of fuel spilled into the river following the May 13 crash, but it did not flow into the Pacific Ocean because mitigation booms were put in place at Pacific Coast Highway to prevent further damage. The truck was carrying several thousand gallons of diesel fuel when it overturned and landed on its side as its driver was exiting westbound I-8 to the northbound Morena Boulevard bridge. The crash prompted a hazardous materials response, and closure of on- and off-ramps to and from Interstate 8 overnight, according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver suffered a head wound and has been treated and released from a hospital. The fuel spill was just upstream of Mission Bay Park’s Southern Wildlife Preserve, a major bird sanctuary in the wide San Diego River flood control channel. There were no immediate reports of damage to the birds or creatures in the tidal flats. Numerous agencies are involved in the response, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; the California Dept. of Fish and Game and its Office of Spill Prevention and Response; the county’s Department of Environmental Health and its Hazardous Materials Division; the U.S. Coast Guard; and NRC Environmental, a private company that specializes in fuel spills. — City News Service