REDUCED IMPACT: Officials expect a reprieve from the oil (PHOTOS, LIVE FEED)

Offshore clusters of heavy tar balls that descended on local beaches on Wednesday were expected to push east toward Panama City through the weekend.

Ken Wolfe, Okaloosa County’s emergency management coordinator, said the experts are saying things like “coastal impacts are slightly reduced” by the light and variable winds expected to be blowing from the north and west.

To see the latest trajectory forecast, which shows impact in our region, click here.

He translated this to mean that the oil already close to the shores of Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties could still wash up, but nothing any nastier is expected to blow into the area, with the “tar ball line” farther offshore drifting east toward Panama City and the Big Bend area.

PHOTOS

• To see Friday's aerial photos of the Emerald Coast, click here.
• To see photos of "oil product" and beachgoers playing in East Pass Friday, click here.
• To see photos of oil patches on Okaloosa Island Thursday, click here.
• To see pictures taken Friday on Walton County Beaches, click here
• To see people flocking to the beach after the advisory is lifted, click here.
• Local oil spill photos from SERT »
• Click here for the latest photos from AP »
• Reader submitted oil photos. »
• View a photo gallery of an oiled gannet at Navarre Beach »

Nonetheless, winds were forecast to shift Sunday and blow out of the east, according to a Santa Rosa County news release. Additional oil impacts for Northwest Florida were expected to continue through Monday.

An air reconnaissance flight spotted a 200-foot ribbon of weathered oil near the Destin Pass Friday morning, according to a State Emergency Response Team report.

But Tracey Vause, the county’s beach safety director, was sent out to find the reported oil and found nothing. Wolfe said the reported ribbon could have been oil that drifted away with the outgoing tide. It also could have been June grass.

A “moderate amount” of small tar balls washed up near Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, according to a Walton County Sheriff’s Office news release. Crews were working to clean up the oil and install protective silt fencing.

Despite tar balls periodically washing ashore along the local coastline, all area beaches remained open for swimming Friday.

Wolfe said that area skimmer boat captains had adopted a new strategy as of Friday and are concentrating on capturing the leading edges of the “major slick” that has floated to within 3.5 miles of the Okaloosa County coast.

The effort is designed to “protect land masses” from further occurrences of tar balls, Wolfe said.

A COLLECTION OF COVERAGE

OPENING THE ‘UMBRELLA PLAN’: As oil arrives, pass proves to be a problem

BACK TO THE BEACH: Crowds flock to the water after swimming advisory is lifted (PHOTO GALLERY)

OIL BURNOUT? Counselor explains how to cope

OIL-FREE FISHING FRIDAY (with catch-of-the-day PHOTOS)

Booming plan needs 'redesign;' barge blockade may take shape Friday (PHOTOS, LIVE FEED, MAP)

FRIDAY UPDATE: Minimal oil impacts on Walton County beaches (UPDATED W/ PHOTOS)

Beaches cleaned, 'it's business as usual'

Destin refuge assists two oiled birds; county to lift swimming advisory (PHOTOS)

‘I CAN STILL SMELL IT ON ME’: Unexpected oil encounter for dive group near the jetties

Wolfe said Okaloosa County has five skimmer boats presently deployed in the Gulf and four vessels of opportunity employing local boat captains to help with scooping up the weathered oil product that has arrived.

He said a “task force” has been ordered to Okaloosa County and is bringing “four or five” more skimmers into the region.

The city of Destin, meanwhile, approved several measures Thursday that will allow it to act to get oil off its beaches whether British Petroleum, the company responsible for the Deepwater Horizon spill, sends cleanup crews or not.

“We’ve got to have a comfort level ourselves,” said Mayor Sam Seevers.

She said the city has set aside $500,000 to spend on oil-related issues.

“I think the council as a whole was a little concerned about what would happen in the event Destin gets flooded with oil or tar balls or whatever,” she said.

The City Council voted first to send a letter to BP seeking assurances for reimbursement for any cost the city incurs in its own cleanup efforts, Seevers said.

The council also asked city staff to devise plans for bringing in equipment to move or scrape soiled sand, to prepare a “quick response team” and to “get as many skimmer boats as we can.”

The Okaloosa County Health Department issued a health notification Friday after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection authorized the Coast Guard to burn oil off state shores. The department warned that particulate matter, an airborne mix of small particles and liquid droplets, might reach the shore.

Responders will monitor weather conditions and “stop the burn right away if there is any problem,” the notification said.

People may smell volatile organic compounds, similar to the smell at a gas station. Exposure to low levels may cause eye, nose, throat and skin irritation.

Also Friday, Gov. Charlie Crist extended the state of emergency declaration for 26 coastal counties, including Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton.