DELAWARE COAST- The newest information as now Lewes Beach has been closed due to the oil spill. Crews have been working the past three days to clean up the oil that remains long the coast. Now locals are reacting to the impacts it is having. the decision the close the beach made around noon. Signs are now up and the beach but people can still sit and enjoy the sand, just a little farther from the water. A new eerily quiet sound at the closed beach in Lewes. DNREC says the spill is now up to 11 miles along the Delaware coast and moving south. People are beginning to notice it south of Dewey Beach.
Donna McCafferty, from Milton said, "We come out everyday and check out the beach everyday it looks different and we were really surprised to see the oil because we heard it was up on the other beaches."
While this was a concern for the two women, others are not as worried. Bill Smith, from Sussex County said, "Not too much, I've seen larger stuff in Florida, you know it is what it is and after a while it's going to dissipate so you do the best you can and just move on." Smith says he caught fish all morning and no issues with oil near Conquest Beach, but if people do come across the oil, DNREC is telling them to not go near it. Nikki Lavoie, a DNREC Spokesperson said, "Generally we really ask the public do not handle the product and if they come across it to please contact DNREC's environmental hotline at 800-662-8802" And even though they can't touch it, people are finding ways to help out the officials to locate the spots. "We stuck sticks in the ground so the DNREC guy could come find it and he did," McCafferty said. Down south the spots are smaller than these ones found yesterday at Roosevelt Inlet in Lewes. Rae Romano, Lewes said, "Globs of oil like three inches, and maybe three inches big and a little bit lower and then just real fine oil you could see the lines, lines all along where the tide was." While it is traveling south, Fenwick Island officials say it has not reached them, and Rehoboth Beach says it is following whatever DNREC says to do, despite only seeing small spots near the waters edge. DNREC like in the past says if you come in contact with the oil on your skin to use baby wipes or baby oil to get it off.