Oil hits Mississippi barrier island

By the CNN Wire Staff

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Long, narrow strip of oil washed up on Petit Bois Island off the Mississippi coast
Oil strand is about 2 miles long but only 3 feet wide
Petit Bois is near Dauphin Island, Alabama, where oil has also washed ashore

(CNN) -- A long, narrow strip of oil washed up on Petit Bois Island off the Mississippi coast on Tuesday, the first time crude believed to be from the massive Gulf of Mexico spill has reached the state's shores, Gov. Haley Barbour's office reported.

The strand of oil was about 2 miles long but only 3 feet wide, said Laura Hipp, a spokeswoman for Barbour's office. Cleanup crews were on the scene Tuesday evening, she said.

Petit Bois Island is off Pascagoula, Mississippi. It's about five miles west of Dauphin Island, Alabama, where oil was also washing ashore Tuesday afternoon. But Hipp said most of the oil remained more than 35 miles off Horn Island, the largest of Mississippi's barrier islands.