More than two dozen animals have died as a result of contact with oil residue left over from the spill off the coast of California, a unified command said.

As much as 2,500 barrels of oil was released from Line 901 in Santa Barbara last week, a pipeline owned and operated by Plains All American. About 500 barrels may have reached the waters off the coast of Refugio State Beach in a release the Environmental Protection Agency said was the worst spill in California in the last 25 years.

A unified command set up by the company, state, federal and local officials said 18 birds and 10 mammals have died as a result of contact with the oil. That represents slightly less than half of the animals found affected by the oil since Wednesday.

"The public should not attempt to rescue oiled wildlife. Untrained individuals who attempt to rescue wildlife may cause more harm than good and may injure themselves in the process," a statement from the command said. "If oiled animals are scared back into the water by pets or people, their chances of survival decrease dramatically."

The U.S. Coast Guard and EPA issued a joint Clean Water Act order this week to ensure Plains cleans and contains the contamination. Unified command said crews have removed around 250 barrels of oil water mixture, more than 6,000 cubic feet of oiled vegetation, 22,500 cubic feet of oiled sand and 54,000 cubic feet of oiled soil from contaminated areas along the Santa Barbara shoreline.

The damaged section of the pipeline is being examined by officials. Plains said it won't comment on the observations until the investigation process is complete.