Gulf beaches hit as distant hurricane pushes oil
Reuters – Crews aboard vessels around the drillship Discoverer Enterprise continue operations to minimize the impact …
By MARY FOSTER and TOM BREEN, Associated Press Writers
GRAND ISLE, La. – Rough seas generated by Hurricane Alex pushed more oil from the massive spill onto Gulf Coast beaches Wednesday as cleanup vessels were sidelined by the faraway storm’s ripple effects.
The hurricane was churning coastal waters across the oil-affected region on the Gulf of Mexico. Six-foot waves and 25 mph winds were forecast through Thursday just offshore from the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle.
In Louisiana, the storm pushed an oil patch toward Grand Isle and uninhabited Elmer’s Island, dumping tar balls as big as apples on the beach. Cleanup workers were kept at bay by pouring rain and lightning that zigzagged across the dark sky. Boom lining the beach had been tossed about, and it couldn’t be put back in place until the weather cleared.
“The sad thing is that it’s been about three weeks since we had any big oil come in here,” marine science technician Michael Malone said. “With this weather, we lost all the progress we made.”
The loss of dozens of skimmers, combined with gusts driving water into the coast, left beaches especially vulnerable.
Large waves churned up by Hurricane Alex left Alabama beaches splattered with oil and tar balls Wednesday, even with Alex more than 500 miles away as it approached the Texas-Mexico coast. Long stretches were stained brown as far as 60 yards from the edge of the water.
Oil deposits appeared worse than in past days, and local officials feared the slowdown would make matters worse as tourists come to the beach for the July Fourth holiday.
