‘REAL DEAL'? Destin expecting oil sheen in 72 hours (11:30 a.m. UPDATE with PHOTOS and FORECAST)

This is the latest report from the city of Destin.

(From Okaloosa County & State Emergency Management Officials)

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. 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. No tar balls have been found on Okaloosa beaches to this point.  

Oil sheen is now in the Navarre area, which is just about 30 miles away from Destin. The sheen was reported by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approximately six miles from Navarre Pier on June 3.

(From the City of Destin)

The City of Destin is now expecting oil sheen in the area within the next 72 hours. Okaloosa contractors will be deploying boom today in preparation for arrival. 11,000 feet arrived last night and another 25,000 feet is scheduled to arrive today.

To see photos of crews deploying boom on Norriego Point Thursday, click here.

The boom will be staged at the Destin Public Works yard for deployment into the bay areas. Booms will not be extended into place at this time and East Pass will be open to marine traffic as long as possible. 

We are hearing from a lot of visitors on what to do about your travel plans if the oil is here.  If you are concerned about your stay, we recommend that you first contact your hotel/resort/rental company, as many of them have relaxed their cancellation policies to better meet your travel needs during this time.

Many others of you are asking how you can help.  Here are two volunteer opportunities:

Okaloosa County and the State are encouraging residents and visitors to become a Coast Watch Volunteer. Learn more at www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org. 

And BP, of course, has established a volunteer program and set up a toll-free number at 1-866-448-5816.

10:30 a.m. update: Okaloosa County Emergency Management has been instructed by the state to begin deploying booms to protect waterways from the Deep Horizon Oil Spill.

Boom has been sitting in the Destin East Pass as a precaution and will be the first set up today. Boat traffic will be allowed through the Destin Pass, but boaters are urged to use caution in navigating around the boom.

Okaloosa Island beaches will continue to be checked for oil by Jackson Guard and Okaloosa Beach Safety daily.

For the latest predicted trajectory of the oil spill, go to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at http://response.restoration.noaa.gov.

9:45 a.m. update: City Manager Greg Kisela reports that "H20 anticipates deploying boom for the East Pass starting Friday. They will stage on Norriego Point.

The harbor will not be boomed unless there is a threat of oil. The tie backs for the Chevron booms in the East Pass are very extensive and will impact the coastlines on both sides of the Pass. East Pass and the harbor will remain open to boat traffic unless circumstances dictate them closing. Please note we receive new information hourly/daily that could accelerate or delay the deployment of the booms.

The story continues

After two days of looking and searching, something has floated up.

Capt. Shawn Dahnke of the charter boat Exta Sea pulled in a plastic bottle Wednesday covered in what appeared to be oil.

For the last couple of weeks, Dahnke has been contracted as a vessel of opportunity with British Petroleum.

“I’ve been doing it for two days,” Dahnke said as he carried the bottle around in a five-gallon bucket at the fuel docks.

As a vessel of opportunity, he said, it is his job to look for any wildlife or oil on the water and report back to BP.

“We didn’t see any oil in the water or sheen anywhere,” Dahnke said. “And we’ve covered a lot of ground.”

However, on Wednesday when they were seven miles due south and eight miles west of Destin they spotted the plastic bottle afloat covered in a brown slime that appeared to be oil.

They scooped it up and reported in to BP.

“That’s the mud they’re talking about,” Dahnke said. “It’s the real deal.”

He was told not to touch anything they might find but to report it to BP. He later turned it into BP for examination.

Randy McDaniel, with Okaloosa County Emergency Management, wasn’t surprised by the discovery but added that we won’t know if it’s associated with Deepwater Horizon until tests are complete.

“It’s possible. It’s possible,” McDaniel said. “But you don’t know how long it’s been in the Gulf or how long it’s carried in the current. They’ve been out there with skimmers today to pull the sheen up, and they have been fairly successful doing that.”

When told about the find, Destin City Manager Greg Kisela said, “it wouldn’t surprise me.” He also said, “that’s a lot closer than I’ve been hearing, but we are ready to deploy the booms in East Pass.”

The sheen was spotted Tuesday as close as 7½ miles from Pensacola Pass.

Kisela said he spoke with boat captain and former city councilor Kelly Windes, whose Sunrise is also a vessel of opportunity. “He is out in The Gulf and he said there is lot of oil out there. He is out about 120 miles southwest. There’s definitely a lot out there.”

Kisela reported that there are about 50 other charter boats on patrol and searching for signs of the slick.

He said skimmers arrived today and are stationed near the booms below Marler Bridge. He said the oil containment measures to protect the bay and the harbor will be deployed in the next 24 to 48 hours and will be in place by Friday.

“The next step for us is to get the Local Action Plan in place — depending on what we get. And that’s the challenge of this. If it’s oil sheen, tar balls, or blotches of oil, it’s all different response plans. It’s hard to assess until you know what you have.”

And that’s especially difficult with all the “different and conflicting information,” he said.

COLLECTION OF COVERAGE

To read more about the latest Destin response, click here.

Locals savor quality time at beach as oil nears » VIDEO, PHOTOS

To see the latest photos from ground zero, click here.

To see the latest cleanup photos from Dauphin Island, click here.

See a gallery of photographs taken at the beaches of South Walton. »

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LATEST FORECAST

This is the latest from Jeff Masters at Weather Underground. "Moderate onshore winds of 10 - 20 knots out of the southeast to southwest are expected to blow over the northern Gulf of Mexico over most of the next week, resulting increased threats of oil to Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle, according to the latest trajectory forecasts from NOAA. These persistent southwesterly winds will likely bring oil as far east as Fort Walton Beach, Florida, by Monday." Read the full entry, click here.

TO SEE NOAA'S LATEST TRAJECTORY MAP, CLICK HERE.