Alex Affects Oil Cleanup

Ripple effects from Tropical Storm Alex sent BP crews back to dry land on Dauphin Island Tuesday. "Mother nature comes along every once and a while and presents us with a challenge, which it has today," said BP spokesperson Henry de la Garza. BP officials say they can't afford any more mistakes, and won't take chances when sending out crews in dangerous weather. Rough waters forced skimmer boats back to shore, leaving the Gulf and Mississippi Sound vulnerable to approaching oil. Barges carrying large amounts of equipment to Katrina Cut were forced to return back to West Dauphin Island twice Tuesday, and finally abandoned cleanup efforts in the afternoon. Boom around Katrina Cut was also not deployed Tuesday.

BP officials said even though waters were too rough for skimmers, the ninety cleanup workers assigned to work at Katrina Cut would be re-deployed in other places on Dauphin Island. But when News 5 went to another Dauphin Island public beach, rough weather had also forced those workers to take shelter from the storm. Some beachgoers decided to tough out the weather, and said they didn't understand why weather would delay the oil cleanup. "I don't know how it would effect it. I don't know why they can't work in the rain. You know they have raincoats," said Jay Russell, a tourist from Mississippi.

Tropical Storm Alex is not expected to interrupt the biggest operation BP is working on now - the drilling of a relief well at the source of the oil leak.