As dawn broke on the morning of August 10th, 1993, a raging fire on board of the damaged barge concealed from view the nearly 400,000 gallons of fuel oil, gasoline and assorted petroleum product pouring into the blue water just off the Fort Desoto park shorline. In a matter of hours the community mobilized in a huge volunteer effort, led by P.S.R.C. (now Save Our Seabirds).

At first, the prevailing winds blew the spill out to sea...but only temporarily. On the 13th of August, the spill began coming ashore on the white sand beaches of Pinellas county. Shortly thereafter, oiled birds began arriving at the rehabilitation site at a peak rate of over 40 birds an hour.