Several months ago I made a reservation for the long awaited visit of my daughter, Tara, and my grandchildren. We stayed in the Orange Beach, AL condo from June 23rd, through June 26th, 2010, and weren’t prepared for what ensued.
The beach deteriorated for four days and oil washed in destroying the beach. What started as a small 5′ strip of oily sand became as much as 20’ wide in some areas. The sand was dark brown instead of white and the smell was overwhelming.
At night the oil sheen could be seen from our 14th floor balcony. During the day large orange and brown shapes washed in to shore with the tide. The waves that were once blue green were dark brown and orange and sand, along the wave line, was black.
Oil permeated the sand by several inches.
Oil spill workers and boats arrived daily but their attempts were futile since each wave carried more oil.
It’s been 77 days since the oil spill and, according to news sources, relief wells won’t be ready until August.
One can only imagine what the damage will be then.
Tags: gulf oil spill, Oil, orange beach, Spill