HURRICANE IAN UPDATE (4:30 p.m., Thursday):
The storm shelters in Columbia County are now closed.
The county opened emergency shelters Wednesday evening at Pinemout Elementary School, Fort White High School and Winfield Community Center to provide secure areas for both residents and evacuees from Hurricane Ian.
But with little impact locally from the storm, as it made landfall near Fort Myers before crossing the state through central Florida and heading up the Atlantic coast, the shelters were closed Thursday afternoon.
The county’s Emergency Operations Center is continuing operations.
Also, the Citizens Information Center will remain open throughout the evening into the morning. The CIC hotline number is 386-719-7530.