Oil washes up along 5 miles of Johnson Beach on Perdido Key 10 days after Sally

Oil washed up along parts of a five-mile stretch of shore on Johnson Beach on Perdido Key on Saturday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Dustin Williams told the News Journal the oil was discovered Saturday, and samples were collected to determine the source of the oil.

The Coast Guard investigates reports of oil pollution in U.S. waters.

It's unclear at this point if the submerged oil is from the 2010 oil spill that was stirred up from Hurricane Sally or if it is from another source.

Williams said the Coast Guard will work with Gulf Islands National Seashore to ensure the pollution is cleaned up.

"We want to get it cleaned up as fast as possible, so we'll be working with the park service to make sure that happens," Williams said. "Until we get those test samples back, right now, it's still an unknown source."

Williams said it was unknown at this point how much oil washed up, but said the estimated shoreline impact was about five miles.

Escambia County officials were also made aware of the oil.

Escambia County Administrator Janice Gilley said the oil looked like tarballs, perhaps from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, that were washed up and liquified in the sun.

Gilley said they wouldn't know the source of the oil until the Coast Guard's test results came back.

Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.