MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida Governor Charlie Crist on Friday declared a state of emergency in the state's Panhandle coastal counties because of the threat from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"The oil slick is generally moving in a northerly direction and threatens Florida's coast," Crist said in the order declaring the emergency in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, and Gulf counties.

(Reporting by Pascal Fletcher)