Hurricane Irma is getting closer to Florida. An emergency evacuation was ordered for Barrier Islands in Lee County Friday morning -including Bonita Beach, Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva and Pine Island.
A mandatory evacuation was also ordered for all people living in mobile and manufactured homes in the county.
At a news conference at Lee County's Emergency Operations Center on Friday morning, Lee County Sheriff's Tony Schall said deputies are going door to door in the Barrier Islands - telling people to leave.
He said law enforcement won't force people to evacuate.
“Make sure you have a plan if you stay. Make sure you notify friends and relatives that you are there. Right now it’s a matter of getting the word out and making sure people understand," he said. "We are stressing that if at all possible, they do leave, they do evacuate. Letting them know that emergency services, when the conditions deteriorate ate not gonna be available for them at that point.”
Schall said people in mandatory evacuations who stay, are doing so at their own peril.
