CLEARWATER - Pinellas County officials could order the mandatory evacuation of more than a half-million people today if Hurricane Ivan continues to pose a threat.
Pinellas school officials said they would decide today if schools will be open on Monday. Some other bay area counties already have ordered schools closed.
Commissioners held off ordering any evacuations Friday during an emergency session of the board. Instead, they unanimously agreed to extend a state of local emergency, which was declared on Sept. 3 for Hurricane Frances, until Sept. 17.
That decision delegates authority to an emergency policy group, allowing those members to order evacuations over the weekend. The group includes the County Commission chairman, the county administrator, the sheriff, the county attorney, the emergency management director and a member of the School Board or city representative.
The county's emergency operations center will be on partial activation today and Gary Vickers, the county's emergency management director, said the county's disaster advisory committee has scheduled a noon conference call today, after which evacuations could be ordered.
But Vickers cautioned commissioners, saying all that could change in the next few hours.
"There's a fair degree of uncertainty that this is going to hit Florida," he told the board Friday. "But with every passing hour, it looks like that's going to happen."
The storm remained a Category 4 hurricane Friday with winds of 145 mph. Should it maintain that strength, county officials would likely order mandatory evacuations through zones C or D - between 430,000 and 532,000 people.
Officials require 15 to 19 hours for a C level evacuation and 18 to 21 1/2 hours for a D level. Pinellas has shelter capacity for about 70,000 people. County officials say many people seek shelter with friends or family as their first option.
County Administrator Steve Spratt said evacuations are ordered for people affected by storm surge, not wind.
As Ivan nears Florida's coast, county officials are still cleaning up from Frances.
Pinellas utilities director Pick Talley said Frances left 100,000 cubic yards of debris in the unincorporated area of Pinellas alone, and that the job of clearing that mess could last three weeks. The county hired a debris management company this week to assist with the job.
"We'd like to have that out by Tuesday (when Ivan could arrive)," Talley said. "But we are not going to be able to do that."
Talley said the county is setting up four "lay down areas," and he urged people to clear their own tree and plant debris. They can drop it off at no charge at these sites:
The county landfill, 3095 114th Ave. N (off 28th Street N, just south of 118th Avenue N near Roosevelt Boulevard).
The northwest corner of Belcher Road and 118th Avenue N.
The southeast corner of East Lake Road and Keystone Road.
28th Street between 42nd and 43rd Avenues in the Lealman area.
Talley said drop-off locations will be open during daylight hours. For more information on hauling debris, call (727) 464-4000.
Projected path