Hurricane Irma: Baker County Orders Mandatory Evacuations

BAKER COUNTY, FL — The Baker County Sheriff's Office has ordered some mandatory evacuations as Hurricane Irma continues to barrel its way towards Florida.

Mandatory evacuations have been issued for:

• All residents on Steel Bridge Road, east of the collection site
• All residents on Webb Haven Road
• Persimmon and Ash Road in the Turkey Creek II neighborhood
• Myrtle, Camphor, Chestnut, and Gum Roads
• All residents on the west side of Aspen Road
• All residents on Lil Dixie Trail
• All residents on River Oak Circle
• All residents on River Oak Drive
• All residents on Confederate Drive East
• All residents of Cedar Creek Farms Road

>>>Click here for a map of evacuation areas.

"We are expecting significant weather-related issues due to potential flooding and the predicted high wind speeds of Hurricane Irma," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Officials are also urging anyone in a mobile home or a compromised shelter to move to a public shelter or relocate to a safer area. The general population shelter is at Macclenny Elementary School. The special needs shelter is at Ed Fraser Hospital.

Irma made the anticipated turn to the north-northwest and the Sunshine state by 8 p.m. Saturday. The ferocious storm that tore through the Caribbean, leaving at least 20 people dead in its wake, was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph; down significantly from the Category 5 winds reported earlier in the day. Irma, however, was crawling at 7 mph as it moved toward South Florida.

A hurricane warning is in effect in Baker County, along with a flash flood watch.

Photo by Desmond Boylan/Associated Press