Miss. governor says oil hits the state for the 1st time on barrier island

JACKSON, Miss. – JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says oil is hitting the state for the first time.

Barbour said Tuesday that a two-mile long, three-feet wide strand of caramel-colored oil has been found on Petit Bois (Peh-tee Bwah) Island, a barrier island near the Mississippi-Alabama border. The discovery means Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi have all been hit by oil.

Barbour says vessels will be dispatched to clean up the oil.

Barbour says officials believe the strand broke off a patch of oil Sunday south of nearby Horn Island.