Oil from the huge gulf spill neared fertile barrier islands in Mississippi on Thursday as crude forced Florida officials to close a popular section of beach near the Alabama border.

It was yet another reminder that the oil gushing from the blown-out well on the seafloor is having a very real effect along the Gulf Coast, washing up on beaches, damaging wetlands and killing animals.

The cap that has been the most effective method so far to contain some of the oil was back in place after a deep-sea blunder a day earlier forced crews to remove it for about 10 hours.

Meanwhile, the governors of Louisiana and Texas declared Sunday a day to pray for help rebuilding communities and restoring the environment.

Darlene Kimball, owner of Kimball's Seafood on the docks in Pass Christian, Miss., has been doing that all along.

"I kept praying and praying that we'd be protected because we've been so fortunate," Kimball said. "All I can do now is pray, pray, pray."

Mississippi so far hasn't seen much effect from the spill, but a large patch of oil has crept into the Mississippi Sound, the fertile waters between the state's barrier islands and its mainland. It was a sobering reminder that the state's luck could run out.

Florida's already has, at least in some places. Government officials closed a quarter-mile section of Casino Beach in Pensacola Beach on Thursday, a day after thick pools of oil washed ashore.

Normally, there would have been hundreds of people on the sand and in the water, but even before the beach was closed, there were only two sunbathers.

"It's pretty ugly; there's no question about it," said Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.

In response to the spill, the Obama administration is seeking to resurrect a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling put in place after the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig, which killed 11 workers and blew out the well 5,000 feet underwater. BP PLC was leasing the rig from owner Transocean Ltd.

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, who overturned the moratorium, on Thursday rejected a Justice Department request that he allow it to stay in place while officials appeal his ruling.