St. Simons Island residents board up homes, businesses ahead of Irma

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - As great uncertainty remains Saturday about Hurricane Irma's path beyond Florida, certain areas in Glynn County looked like a ghost town Saturday morning.

Many homes and businesses boarded up windows, some of them with messages written on them for Hurricane Irma. One business left an ominous painting of a skull, an apparent warning for the powerful storm to stay away.

Response to the Glen County's evacuation order has been mixed with some residents and a single business deciding to ride out the storm.

"We've been watching the weather and we figured we'd be better off here," said Trish Wooten, owner of St. Simons Bait & Tackle shop. "We were going to go to Waycross, which was where it was headed, so we just decided to stay."

A mandatory evacuation order remains in effect in Glynn County. There is growing concerns for those who choose to stay since bridges and causeway will shut down as Irma moves into the area, preventing them from leaving.