Hurricane Ike Targets Texas, Texas State Park Closures

Texas officials on Wednesday the 10th of August, 2008 are preparing to evacuate the first of 1 million Texan residents who could be in the path of ever strengthening Hurricane Ike.  Hurricane Ike is expected to make landfall early Saturday morning near the Texas coastal city of Corpus Christi.  If a mandatory evacuation is called it would be the first ever in South Texas history.  The State and County have always let people voluntarily decide to leave or not.  Now however the county has the authority to order people out.  Governor Rick Perry, in order to start the flow of state aid has declared 88 coastal communities disaster areas in advance of the hurricane.  Several coastal parks are evacuating campers and closing today.  They are Galveston Island, Goose Island, Mustang Island and Lake Texana State Parks.  Brazos Bend and Stephen F. Austin State Parks are on standby for evacuation.  Upper coastal state parks are on standby for hurricane preparedness and are not accepting evacuees.  Other parks across the state of Texas will be accepting evacuees who may tent camp for free or stay in cabins and screen shelters at reduced rates.  Call the Austin reservation center 512-389-8900 or the individual park for more information.  Sea Rim State Park remains closed due to Hurricane Rita in 2005.