Oil Hits Okaloosa Island
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tarballs begin to wash ashore on the pristine beaches of Okaloosa Island, Fla.
This is what the Okaloosa Island beaches in the Florida Panhandle look like at any other time of the year. But the scenery has changed now that the oil spill is spreading to the area.
The Okaloosa Island area once thought they were sparred of the oil disaster and started an "Our Coast is Clear" campaign. But that all changed this week when tarballs were spotted on the beaches.
Okaloosa Island's once snow-white beaches are painted with tarballs. Area condominiums have received cancellations from summer vacationers.
The beaches along Okaloosa Island in the Florida Panhandle are now covered with tarballs.
Residents in the Florida Panhandle say the first tarballs on shore were about the size of golf balls but as more washed in they grew in size.
Okaloosa County officials discuss their plans to protect the area's waterways as tarballs wash up along the shore.
Okaloosa County Commission voted to pursue their own plans to protect the area from the oil spill despite the Unified Command Center's instructions.
As word of tarballs on the Okaloosa Island shore, residents visit their beaches for a first-hand look at how the oil spill has affected them.
The Florida Panhandle is now among those affected by the oil spill.