News--Oil Spill in Gulf

June 4:  This morning there are some sporadic tar balls on our beach in Gulf Shores.  Oil is not visible in the water and there are not yet swimming advisories but there may be in the coming days.  We do not have any strong odor.  Given no mass of oil off our shore, and with the sporadic afternoon showers we get this time of year, hopefully we won't, but we can only wait and see.  While we don't, we hope some of you will decide to come to Gulf Shores and have a wonderful with your family--enjoy the sun, play in Little Lagoon, go to Waterville, watch the Blue Angels, play golf, shop at Tanger and more.  

 June 2:  This afternoon the beach at Gulf Shores still looked great and had no oil smell but we'll be watching closely over the next few days.  Yesterday some globs of oil came ashore about 25 miles west of here on Dauphin Island and oil has been sighted some miles offshore.  What has come ashore there has not been sheets of dark liquid but has been brown globs that sit on top of the sand.  We are NOT getting reports of odor with it.  The good news is this is easily cleanable and we are hoping it is all we may get, but we don't know when or how much will arrive here.  In a strange turn of events it appears to be moving eastward offshore.  We simply don't know how much will or will not land but we are watching it closely both through the media and in person.

Globs at the waterline are one thing, and there is lots to enjoy here beyond that.  Many of you want to come enjoy your vacation here, even without pristine Gulf waters.  If a strong odor develops we will be worried about that--we don't want you to come if it is not healthy.  Absent of that, we hope you will come and have a great time.

If the beach is expected to be officially closed for your stay, your reservation is fully refundable. 

This morning offshore fishing waters were closed as far east as Navarre Beach and by tomorrow officials anticipate offshore fishing waters will be closed as far east as Destin.  There are not swimming advisories at this time.

The pass from the Gulf into Little Lagoon was closed today as a preventative measure to protect the waters and ecology of the lagoon.  Little Lagoon remains open for swimming and boating.

 May 28:  It has been an AMAZING week at the beach. Our children finished their school year on Tuesday and lots of local families have been out enjoying our still clean & beautiful beach and water.  CNN Live yesterday showed our beaches as well as Biloxi's to show that while Louisiana has oil onshore, we continue to be spared.  Visitors this week have said the great thing about some families being scared away by misinformation is that the restaurant waits are shorter than usual! 

May 23:  Last weekend they finally made some progress at significantly reducing the flow of oil into the Gulf.  Oil is spilling at a much slower rate and at this point there are lots of skimmer boats working on it but they are still in "catch-up" mode to contain what has spilled over the last few weeks.

According to EPA information released today, EPA air monitoring conducted through yesterday has found that air quality on the Gulf coastline is normal for this time of year and that water quality does not pose increased risk to aquatic life or human health.     

 According to the NOAA maps, the spill field is moving further west and effecting more of Louisiana.  Louisiana is the only place where oil has floated ashore.  So far the spill continues to be well offshore of Alabama.  It is not expected to make landfall anywhere but Louisiana for at least the next 72 hours which is the amount of time they project the maps. 

Patrolling offshore from here there are no oil or tar balls in the water at this time.  Fishing areas are open 25-30 miles offshore and in all of the back bays.  There is no smell of oil or any other sign of oil from shore except that last Wednesday there was a bit of smoke from the controlled burns.  The wind changed and we haven't had any reports of it since. 

 As of yesterday, 10.3 million gallons of oil/water mix had been recovered by skimmer boats to reclaim the oil and controlled burns are making progress reducing the overall size of the spill.   

The Alabama Emergency Management Agency continues to expect that our coastline will have limited impact from the spill.  Fishing waters remain open.  We urge you to see the spill area and fishing area maps at http://www.noaa.gov/.

Here is what we've heard from some of the experts:

IT WILL BE FOUGHT AT SEA.  The Coast Guard, who is in charge of the spill containment and cleanup, has said their top priority is to deal with the oil at sea.  The beach is easy to clean, fragile estuaries and marshes are not.  Bays and wetlands are being protected in case of the worst but given the nature of the oil, the currents and its distance from OUR shore, the spill is not expected to reach our shores in any significant levels.  Between nature, chemical dispersants, an increasing number of skimmer boats collecting oil and other efforts, it seems to be helping.

After 4 weeks the oil has remained far away with no sight or smell of oil.  We are hoping that will continue a bit longer until they can gain control over the situation!   

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