Clay and Baker counties announces Irma storm shelters

Jacksonville, FL — Clay County is laying out its shelter plan ahead of Hurricane Irma.

Emergency Management is opening a special needs shelter Saturday at 8AM at Lake Asbury Junior High, 2851 Sandridge Rd. in Green Cove Springs. This shelter will serve only those registered with the county.

The general population shelters will open Saturday at noon at four locations: Clay High School, 2025 FL 16, Green Cove Springs; Orange Park High School, 2300 Kingsley Ave, Orange Park; Wilkinson Elementary School, 4965 CR 218, Middleburg; and Keystone Heights Junior/Senior High School, 900 Orchid Ave, Keystone Heights. Orange Park High School will be the only shelter that allows pets.

Evacuations are a “distinct possibility”, according to emergency management officials, but none have been ordered yet.

The Emergency Operations Center will be fully activated starting Saturday at 8AM. The local state of emergency for Clay County took effect at 7AM Thursday.

Clay County has activated its citizen call center if you have any questions relating to the storm at 904-284-7703. You can also get details on your zone and the County’s alerting system at alert.claycountygov.com.

As for Baker County, two shelters will open on Friday at 4 PM.

The general population shelter will be at Macclenny Elementary School, located at One Wild Kitten Drive. The other shelter will be a dedicated special needs shelter. It will be at Ed Fraser Hospital, at 159 North 3 Street.