PENSACOLA BEACH (AP) -- Skimming vessels and boom lines are trying to hold off two massive plumes of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill that are inching closer to the western Florida Panhandle.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection said Sunday that one of the slicks is as close as three miles south of Pensacola Pass.
The pass is adjacent to a section of the Gulf Islands National Seashore and Pensacola Beach.
Another patchy, orange slick was 9 miles south of the pass. It is at least 2 miles wide and extends 40 miles to the south.
The DEP said winds continue to blow the oil toward the shore, increasing the chances of tar balls and weathered crude on the beaches during the next week.
"We're seeing this oil now and it still looks pretty fresh.' said Kenneth Manning with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. "It's still pumping 200 miles from here. So it's hard to say when this stuff is going to hit. But when this stuff hits, its going to be so much worse than tarballs cause its actual liquid."
The DEP said winds continue to blow the oil toward the shore, increasing the chances of tar balls on the beaches during the next week.
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