Thick pools of oil from the spill in the Gulf of Mexico washed up along miles of Pensacola Beach overnight.
Dozens of workers used shovels Wednesday to scoop up the oil and orange-tinged sand. There were a few sunbathers at the beach, but no one was in the water.
Tar balls have been reported as far west as Panama City and heavier oil is predicted to wash ashore further east along the coast line in the coming days.
Officials also toured the beach. Gov. Charlie Crist said he called for more skimmers and was disheartened so much oil had slipped through the skimming operation.
Crist said the problem was the vast amount of the coastline that had to be protected.
He also said calling a special legislative session about the oil spill was a priority.
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