Oil from spill unlikely to mar N.C. vacations

The chance that oil from a spill in the Gulf of Mexico would make it to North Carolina beaches is extremely slim, federal and state officials said Tuesday.

Ernie Seneca, a spokesman for the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, said the state is working with the Coast Guard and Federal Emergency Management Agency to monitor the spread of the oil and to make any preparations to keep beach-goers safe.

Seneca said federal estimates are that there is a less than one percent chance the oil would make it to the North Carolina coast over the next 10 days to three weeks.