Hurricane Irma: 2 Allatoona Campgrounds Open For Evacuees

CARTERSVILLE, GA -- The United States Army Corps of Engineers has opened two campgrounds in northwest Georgia to house Hurricane Irma evacuees. The McKaskey Campground at 358 McKaskey Creek Road in Cartersville and Payne Campground at 2495 Kellogg Creek Road in the Acworth area of Cherokee County are now open for anyone seeking emergency shelter.

The hurricane, which remains at a Category 4, is expected to pass through Florida this weekend, and some Georgia residents could begin feeling the effects of the storm as early as Sunday evening. Forecasters believe the story is expected to be downgraded to a tropical storm system by the time it reaches the Peach State.

In Bartow County, the American Red Cross has opened an emergency shelter at Liberty Square Church at 2001 Liberty Square Drive in Cartersville, the city said on its Facebook page (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

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"With the exception of service animals, the shelter is not a pet friendly facility," it added. "However, there will be an animal care unit on site to house pets. There are currently local RV campgrounds available for those traveling with campers."

In Cherokee County, the go-to place will be Action Church at 271 Marietta Road in Canton.

"We have cots, showers, food and we also have a huge parking lot where we can park RV/camper if you are bringing those," the organization said Wednesday on its Facebook page. "We run a warming shelter every winter so we are equipped to handle this and handle it quickly."

The hurricane brought 180-mile-per-hour winds and sheets of rain as it moved past Puerto Rico on Thursday and hovered over Cuba Saturday morning, according to reports. When Irma reaches Georgia early next week, it will bring inches of rain, a risk of tornadoes and winds guaranteed to make the start of the work week a pain.

The National Weather Service says the storm will take shape by Monday in Atlanta with showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 8 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Expect high temperatures to hover around 67 degrees. Of course, it will be windy, with a northeast wind 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. The chance of precipitation is 100 percent.

To view a full list of shelters open across the state, click here.

Image via National Weather Service