when? >> reporter: we don't know when, that's always hard to say, alex, because it's driven by the winds and the currents. and i guess the good news now is the conditions are favorable for keeping it offshore. the wind right now is coming from the north, blowing offshore, the seas are relatively calm, that's all pretty good news. the big sheen is about 11 miles offshore, stuff between that and where we're standing right now. but i can also tell you that just moments ago, we walked down to the beach area, directly behind me, along the pier area, seeing a -- there's a sheen of oil on the water and streaks of oil, almost looking like coffee grounds or brown powder are coming up on the beach, and that's oil. and there are also tar balls there. that's happening now. also happening in gulf shores, alabama and orange beach, alabama where they've been cleaning up around the clock. it's heavier in that area than here, but this stuff bounces around. you can never predict where it's