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Evacuees urged to sit tight

LUFKIN, Texas — As Hurricane Rita evacuees get ready to return home, local officials are encouraging them to wait a day or two to make the trip back a smoother, safer one.

"We're asking them to give it a day or two — let them get things going in a lot of these counties (hit by Rita), (to) try to get power going, try to get gas in those areas," Greg Sanches, public information officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety said. He said counties most affected by the storm include Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties.

Furthermore, evacuees going home too early will likely not be allowed back because the areas are uninhabitable, he said.

"They can take off and start driving (but) they're gonna waste their gas, turn around (and) go right back," Sanches said.

Lee Miller, public information officer for Lufkin's Emergency Operations Center, said none of the city's thousands of evacuees are being forced to stay.

"What we basically say is, 'We can't hold you here but there are areas that are not ready for the return of evacuees and you're on your own (and) good luck,'" Miller said.

But he encouraged those from less-affected areas to go ahead and leave.

"If you're from an area that's not closed, you need to go home," he said.

He said while gasoline was in short supply in Lufkin Sunday, with lines stretching for blocks, relief was coming.

"The state's coming in and getting us filled up," he said.

He was not sure of exactly how many evacuees were in town, but said it was far more than the city was designed to hold.

"Our evacuee system was designed for 10,000 (people) and we've more than doubled that," Miller said.

He said there were over 30 officially designated Red Cross shelters in town, but many more churches and schools opened in the area.

"So many churches and schools were not prepared to take evacuees; they weren't designed to take people," Miller said.

Because of that, the conditions at the shelters varied widely, he said.

"(Shelter conditions) ranged from the Hilton to back-alley streets," he said.

He said one of the more "challenged" shelters was St. Patrick's, which was prepared to take 200 evacuees but ended up with 791.

In addition, more than 25 carloads of Port Arthur evacuees arrived at the United Pentecostal Church campground Sunday from southern shelters, swelling numbers there to more than 500 people. The campground, which had no electricity as of noon Sunday, was already hosting around 100 Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

But despite obstacles, Miller said the people of Lufkin rose to the occasion.

"The city of Lufkin and the people of the city I believe are doing an incredible job of helping meet the needs of those that have been dropped here," he said.

Sanches said there were some problems as evacuees left town, but not nearly as many as there could have been.

"When you consider the amount of population leaving now ... we've had some problems, no doubt. But when you consider how big of an operation it is, it's going fairly well, I think," Sanches said.

Miller expected the flow out of Lufkin to be much the same as the flow into the city last week.

"It took three days to get (evacuees) here, (it will probably) take three days for them to get out," he said.

Because of a closure of the U.S. 59 bridge over the Trinity River south of Goodrich, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) took measures to ease congestion. All U.S. 59 traffic north of Lufkin is being detoured west to state Highway 7 to Crockett to state Highway 21 and then 1-45 to Houston. U.S. 59 traffic south of Lufkin is being detoured at Livingston to Huntsville on U.S. 190 where it will connect to 1-45 to Houston. Traffic northbound from Houston is routed around the bridge to the west using state Highway 150, state Highway 156, and U.S. 190 to rejoin Highway 59 in Livingston.

And on Sunday, Gov. Rick Perry's office announced a plan to stagger the return of more than 2.5 million Rita evacuees over at least three days, beginning Sunday.

"We do not yet have enough fuel along the return routes and in Houston to accommodate the return of everyone who evacuated," Perry said in a press release. "If Texans will be patient and follow this plan, they will find their return trip to be easier and more efficient."

He also offered stronger words of warning.

"I can't say in strong enough terms to those who evacuated the coastal region that they should not begin their return for the time being," Perry said. "We are not through assessing the damage and cannot assure you at this time that your community is safe to return to."

The schedule for returns is as follows:

On Sunday, residents of communities west of I-45 and north of I-10 were encouraged to return. This included residents of Tomball, The Woodlands, Waller, Hockley, Katy, Brookshire and surrounding communities.

Today, residents may return to communities west of I-45 and south of I-10, including residents of Richmond, Stafford, Rosenberg, Sugarland, Pearland and surrounding communities, plus all Houston residents inside Loop I-610.

For Tuesday, residents may return to all remaining areas east of I-45 and north of I-10 up to the Liberty and Chamber county lines.

Lareign Ward writes for the Lufkin Daily News. E-mail: lward@coxnews.com. Staff writer Ashley Cook contributed to this story.