Hurricane Irma is relentlessly continuing its path to the First Coast with mandatory evacuations already begun in Nassau County and more coming Saturday for Duval and and St. Johns counties.

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and emergency management officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for Zones A and B, coastal and low-lying areas and mobile homes. People need to be out of those areas by Saturday night.

Shelters have been opened at the following locations. For the general population go to Landmark Middle School, 101 Kernan Blvd N. (pets too); Twin Lakes Elementary, 8000 Point Meadows Drive; Chimney Lakes Elementary, 9353 Staples Mill Drive (pets); Mandarin Middle School, 5100 Hood Road (pets); Oceanway Elementary, 1255 Gillespie Ave.; Abess Park Elementary, 12731 Abess Blvd.; Andrew Robinson, 101 W. 12th Street; and Arlington Middle School, 8141 Lone Star Road.

For special-needs citizens go to Legends Center, 5130 Soutel Drive (pets accepted); Atlantic Coast High School, 9735 R.G. Skinner Pkwy (pets); Oceanway Middle, 143 Oceanway Ave.; and Enterprise Elementary, 8085 Old Middleburg Road.

Regardless of Irma’s track and all the forecasts, the National Weather Service said a “large destructive wave action and above normal astronomical tides may result in further damage to coastal infrastructure weakened by [last year’s Hurricane] Matthew.”

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Curry said businesses in areas under evacuation orders can stay open Friday, but people who live in those areas need to evacuate as soon as they can.

“Know your evacuation zones,” Curry said.

Residents can visit the website jaxready.com for information on storm preparation and a map of evacuation zones. Curry said people can call the city at (904) 630-2489 for information.

Nassau County officials called for mandatory evacuations in Zones A, C and F beginning at 6 p.m. Friday and also for people in manufactured homes. The county also opened shelters at Hilliard Middle-Senior School (special needs and pets) at 1 Flashes Ave., Hilliard Elementary School at 27568 Ohio St., Bryceville Elementary School at 6504 Church Ave., Callahan Intermediate School at 34586 Ball Park Road and Callahan Middle School (pets) at 450121 Old Dixie Highway.

An evacuation order for St. Johns County residents in Zones A and B goes into effect Saturday, officials there said. People in St. Augustine and Hastings also are to evacuate.

The county will open shelters at 6 a.m. Saturday at Pacetti Bay Middle School (special needs) at 245 Meadowlark Lane, Timberlin Creek Elementary School (pet-friendly) at 555 Pine Tree Lane, Southwoods Elementary School (pet-friendly) at 4750 Florida 206, Pedro Menendez High School (general population) at 600 Florida 206 and Bartram Trail High School (general population) at 7399 Longleaf Pine Parkway.

Clay County will open shelters at 9 a.m. Saturday at Lake Asbury Junior High (special needs) at 2851 Sandridge Road in Green Cove Springs, Keystone Heights Jr./Sr. High (pets) at 900 Orchid Ave., Orange Park High School (pets) at 2300 Kingsley Ave., Clay High at 2025 Florida 16 in Green Cove Springs and Wilkinson Elementary at 4965 County Road 218 in Middleburg.

Irma, a Category 4 storm, had winds of 155 mph and was moving west at 14 mph as of 2 p.m., according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was located about 225 miles east of Caibarien, Cuba and 380 miles southeast of Miami.

If schools hadn’t already closed, Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday directed all public K-12 schools, state colleges and universities to shut down Friday through Monday. The same goes for city government offices.

“Today, I am directing the closure of all public schools, state colleges, state universities and state offices for their normal activities effective Friday through Monday, to ensure we have every space available for sheltering and staging,” the governor said. “Floridians are facing a life-threatening storm in Hurricane Irma, and every family must prepare to evacuate. Our state’s public schools serve a vital role in our communities as shelters for displaced residents and staging areas for hurricane recovery efforts.”

As the area frets Irma, Hurricane Jose isn’t far behind. The roadways remain packed, and gas and commodities continue to be in demand. If residents haven’t already left, they’re packing up, stocking up, boarding up and preparing to hunker down.

Curry said the city is not out of fuel even though many motorists are having trouble finding gas stations with gas. He encouraged residents to use the GasBuddy application on smart phones to locate the best place to fill up on gas.

Sheriff Mike Williams said the mandatory evacuation order means residents who do not leave may not be able to get assistance from law enforcement or emergency personnel. He said there will be added officers working Saturday night through the end of the storm.

The beaches will have a curfew Saturday from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Curry said the Florida Department of Transportation makes the call to close the bridges, and that will happen when winds reach 40 mph.

Curry spent time Friday encouraging people who live in evacuation zones to leave their home before the storm arrives.

Joe Daraskevich: (904) 359-4308