Even as projections forecast Hurricane Ian shifting east, local government officials continued planning for worst-case scenarios.
Both the Columbia County Commission and the Lake City Council declared local states of emergencies on Tuesday morning with the county also beginning plans to open storm shelters Wednesday.
An advisory issued at 11 p.m. Tuesday night had Ian as a Category 3 storm moving north from Cuba. It was expected to pass by the Florida Keys later Tuesday night. Its projected path after making landfall is through central Florida and up toward Jacksonville with North Central Florida on the western edge of the cone of uncertainty.
Shayne Morgan, the county’s emergency management director, told the commission during its emergency meeting Tuesday morning at the Emergency Operations Center, that the plan was to utilize Fort White High School (17828 SW State Road 47), Pinemount Elementary School (324 SW Gabriel Place) and the Winfield Community Center (1324 NW Winfield Street) as general population shelters. Westside Elementary School could be used as a special needs shelter. Morgan said the plan would be to have shelters available by 6 p.m. today. None of the shelters are open to pets or animals. Also, firearms are not permitted in public shelters.
Tom Moffses, the administrator of the Columbia County Health Department, recommended that if the storm is not projected to be a hurricane by the time it reaches Columbia County, that they use a “hybrid model” in handling special needs individuals at shelters.
The hybrid shelter will be located at Pinemount.
Moffses said the county previously had a special needs team set up at a general population shelter to assist, rather than open up a special needs shelter.
According to Moffses, the health department has already contacted residents registered with special needs and none are planning on using the shelters. He also said to open a special needs shelter, the health department would have to be closed to man that shelter and he can’t close if the county offices are not closed.
“I want to emphasize that sheltering is a last resort,” Morgan said, adding shelters would be available for both county residents and evacuees from other portions of Florida. “There’s not much comfort when you come to a shelter.”
There won’t be many other places in the county for evacuees to stay, currently. Paula Vann, the county’s Tourist Development Council director, said the hotels in Lake City are near capacity.
The county offices will be closed Thursday and Friday. The board approved that closure following a recommendation from County Manager David Kraus.
Kraus, though, said most county employees would still be working, helping to man the shelters, assisting at the EOC or helping with the Citizens Information Center, which opens at 8 a.m. today and will remain open 24/7 throughout the storm event. The hotline number is 386-719-7530.
Suwannee County also is opening storm shelters, but not until Thursday. A pet-friendly shelter will be located at Suwannee Pineview Elementary School (1748 S. Ohio Avenue) while a general population shelter will be at Branford Elementary School (26801 State Road 247) and a special needs shelter will be at Suwannee Springcrest Elementary (1419 SW Walker Avenue).
Also on Tuesday, the Suwannee County School District announced it was closing schools the rest of the week, starting today.
Superintendent Ted Roush announced Tuesday morning that the district would close Wednesday through Friday “out of an abundance of caution and consideration for our employees, students, and their families.”
“While working with local emergency management, we have increased optimism that our impact, as of the time of this notice, will not be as severe as believed only 24 hours ago,” Roush said in the statement. “However, given the unpredictable nature of these types of weather systems, we believe the most responsible action is to close for these dates, understanding that 24 hours from now, conditions and the path of Hurricane Ian could possibly change.”