Beach

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. -- Oil from the massive leak was spotted less than seven miles off the coast of Pensacola Beach, setting off emergency activations and fears that oil on Florida's beaches is imminent.

Boaters spotted the oil sheen so Escambia County will activate its emergency operations center later today and start putting out secondary booming material.

For the past month, the oil has stayed about 100 miles off Florida's coast and this is the closest its been since the oil started leaking.

There are 19 teams of 10 crew members that are trained for potential beach cleanup in Pensacola Beach. Some teams were activated Tuesday morning and the others are on standby.

In Jacksonville Beach, surfers are hopeful the oil steers clear of our beaches.

"I hope it stays out past the gulf stream. It's sad to see it go out that way, but still it will be better than coming here so we can keep surfing," said Jacksonville Beach surfer Cameron Kirby.

Duval County Chief Martin Senterfitt says any potential impact to the First Coast is still weeks or maybe months away. He says we do have a plan in place, updated every two years for oil spills.

He said local team members are heading for Tallahassee on Thursday to help state leaders organize the response.  Local crews also dispatched help to Alabama's coast, where oil came ashore Tuesday.