Cap on BP Oil Well to Remain in Place During Storm

Federal officials said Thursday they have enough confidence in the plugged BP oil well that the experimental cap can remain in place even if repair crews are forced to evacuate because of a storm bearing down on the Gulf of Mexico.

The administration official in charge, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said the fact that the cap has held for a week means it's safe to leave it unmonitored for a few days, despite the "significant impacts" the storm might bring, The Associated Press reported.

Allen said he'd decide late Thursday whether ships and crews will be ordered to leave the spill site.

Work on repairing the damaged well was halted due to the looming storm. Forecasters said a tropical depression near the Bahamas could soon become a tropical storm and reach the Gulf by Saturday.

The new cap fully sealed last week is seen as the best hope of stopping the massive leak that has been spilling oil into the Gulf for three months, causing an economic and environmental disaster.

Also Thursday, fishermen rejoiced after a third of federal waters in the Gulf that were closed due to the spill were reopened, the AP said. Over 26,000 square miles of fishing areas were reopened off west Florida.