Update on Oil Spill nearing Florida

Below is the newest brief. I wish they wouldn't have used the generalization of the panhandle! Mexico Beach, St. Joe Beach, Cape San Blas---we are NOT seeing any affects of the oil. Our water is clean, and beautiful. The fishing is open here and it is fantastic fishing right now!!!

They have reported  oil sheen about 10 miles off Pensacola. 

Landfall Predictions:


The latest projections from NOAA indicate weathered oil from the leading edge of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could impact the Florida Panhandle as early as this week due to a shift in winds and currents.


Oil sheen was reported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approximately 10 miles from Florida’s shoreline on Tuesday, June 1.


Any potential impacts to Florida’s shoreline will be highly weathered, in the form of tar balls, oil sheen, tar mats or mousse – a pudding-like oil/water mixture that could be brown, rust or orange in color.


Skimmers have been deployed near Pensacola with the hopes of removing that oil from near shore waters and preventing and minimizing any potential impacts to Florida.


Observations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) continue to indicate that a small portion of the oil slick has reached the Loop Current in the form of light sheens. Florida continues to monitor the location of the loop current based on NOAA’s daily projections.


The City of Mexico Beach has been meeting with the contractor hired to coordinate the beach clean up SHOULD any oil come on our shore.   The plan is to have possibly up to 200 workers to clean up the beaches as well as use our beach rake.  

The City is also acquiring a DEP permit now to FILL in our canal to prevent oil from getting into the canal IF it should come this way.

Bay County has ordered up to 12 skimmers.  Boom will be deployed to protect St. Joe Bay if need be. The plans are to deploy boom from the tip of Cape San Blas to the Gulf County line.
They say that since Mexico Beach is an "open" beach, unlike bays, inlets,bayous...that the oil would be much easier to clean up once it reaches the shore. 
Skimming and booms have not really proven effective. 

I've attached the current oil trajectory map. 

Please help us spread the word that Mexico Beach is open for business, our waters and beaches are clean and beautiful and the fishing is GREAT!!!

Mary
850-896-5222
http://www.maryblackburn.com/
Sundance Realty
Mexico Beach FL real estate on Facebook