Crist evaluates aftermath of oil spill

MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) - Florida Governor Charlie Crist took a flight from Mobile on Tuesday to see the oil slick first hand. He flew out of the Coast Guard's Aviation Training Center.

At around 3:00 p.m., Governor Crist took off on a Coast Guard patrol plane, on route to see the enormous pool of oil left in the wake of an oil rig explosion.

When he returned two hours later, he said he didn't like what he saw.

"The spill is massive, enormous, it's unimaginable the magnitude of it," Crist said.

Crist is concerned about the impact on Florida beaches.

"If it does impact them, how that could impact the tourism industry, the beauty of our state. Florida is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I want to make sure we do everything we can," Crist explained.

Pictures from the flight were not provided, but Coast Guard officers say as of Tuesday afternoon the oil slick is 60 miles south of Dauphin Island.

The idea of drilling off Florida's coastline has been a hot topic in the Florida legislature recently, but Crist says this latest tragedy has given him a change of heart.

"What I have said all along, if it can be far enough, safe enough, and clean enough, it's something we ought to look into, but after what I have just seen, apparently that's not far enough, that's certainly not safe enough and it's obviously not clean enough," Crist said.

Crist headed back to Tallahassee, where he will coordinate with emergency agencies to prepare for the oil's possible landfall.

Crist says on Wednesday the Coast Guard will open a command center at the Aviation Training Center to prepare as the oil inches closer to land.