SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (Border Report) — Before he set up his sail umbrella on Thursday for a day at the beach, Bill Tasker got a shovel and cleaned the tar and oil from the sand.
“It’s not nice. It’s sticky and it gets all over everything,” said Tasker, who is from the Woodlands, outside Houston and was visiting this South Texas island that borders Mexico.
Tasker used to be a resident on the island until the pandemic when he sold his property.
He says tar washing up on the beaches happens every year, but usually not to this degree.
Tar balls and oil are mixed with sea grass on the beach of South Padre Island, Texas, on Thursday, June 13, 2024. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)
“I’ve got a couple surf boards full of it. But baby oil will get it off.”
Beachgoers reported noticing the tar over the past two weeks. On Tuesday, they said it hit an all-time high.
The City of South Padre has been sending sand-cleaning crews at night and resident Wenda Christopher says she notices that the beach is improving.
“Right now it seems to be right on the coast line. Last week it was way worse,” she told Border Report as she sat on a towel soaking in the sun.
“Over 300 miles of the Texas southern Gulf Coast have seen tar balls washing up onto the shore. Tar is a natural occurrence caused by oil that seeps from the floor in the Gulf of Mexico. This happens seasonally and is typically seen in summer months due to increased temperature, currents, and tidal influences,” the city said in a statement.
The Texas General Land Office and U.S. Coast Guard also are monitoring the situation.
Tar ball sightings can be reported to the GLO’s Spill Division at 1-800-832-8224.
Anyone who comes in contact with the tar is advised to wash the area with dish soap or baby oil.
The city also encourages property owners to set up tar-cleaning stations at their homes.
The City of South Padre Island, Texas, says tar on the beach is a ‘natural occurrence” and seeps from the Gulf of Mexico. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)
The tar is just one issue plaguing the area right now; There also is smoke in the air from fires burning in Mexico.
Farmers burning fields south of the border is sending smoke north into the Rio Grande Valley.
CBS4 Chief Meteorologist Bryan Hale, however, told Border Report that the smoke should be dissipating soon.
“The smoke is drawing to an end. It is a seasonal thing and the farmers in Mexico are wrapping up. But, this was a particularly bad season made worse by persistent high pressure trapping the smoke near the surface,” Hale said.
A public shower station on South Padre Island, Texas, is soiled with tar on June 13, 2024. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)
Enrique Sotello lives in Cameron County just across the causeway and says he has come to South Padre Island at least once a week his entire life.
On Thursday, he was combing for treasures with his trusty metal detector but says he was finding more than the occasional necklace or coin: He was finding tar.
“Tar and some trash but typically we don’t see tar washing up with oil stuff,” Sotello told Border Report. “I’ve never seen it this bad.”
Anthony Cantu, of Austin, dragged a wagon loaded with beach supplies and food and tried to avoid the tar ball patties on the sand as he tried to set up for the day with his excited children.
One family member said she thought the balls were “dog poop” at first.
“Yesterday when we walked the beach, we were like, ‘Wow!'” Cantu said.
He says the vacation at South Padre Island every year. But this year they’re disappointed.
“Get the message out: It’s bad!” he said.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.
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