Pinellas County in Florida enacts mandatory evacuations for Zone A and mobile home residents due to Hurricane Helene's approach.

They waited in a long line spilling out of the tent city, snaking down the sidewalk, shouldering everything they owned. Backpacks and grocery sacks, garbage bags bulging with T-shirts, sweatpants, family photos,

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is set to shut down access to the Barrier Islands at 6 p.m. Thursday in preparation for Hurricane Helene, the agency said in a news release. The following islands will be closed to residents and visitors until further notice, according to deputies:

Evacuees from Pinellas County are heeding the storm surge warnings caused by Hurricane Helene and are seeking refuge in Polk County.

Live from Pinellas County as Hurricane Helene strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane Thursday. It is moving across the Gulf of Mexico on a path to Florida, according to

After consulting with the county emergency management department, the Pinellas County school district announced it will close all schools and offices Wednesday and Thursday. All sports and school activities for those two days also are canceled. Tuesday’s sports and activities are set to take place as scheduled.

The National Hurricane Center projects that the storm will make landfall as a major hurricane along the Florida's Gulf Coast on Thursday. Things are heating up in Middle-earth — and within the fandom.