Perry tells Texas to brace for 45,000 evacuees

BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) - Residents in areas ravaged by Hurricane Rita three years ago began fleeing Saturday ahead of what authorities said would be a mandatory evacuation order as Gustav strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm.

Gov. Rick Perry, meanwhile, called on Texas to prepare for potentially 45,000 evacuees from Louisiana, where roads began clogging with traffic as a million people took to Gulf Coast highways.

Jefferson and Orange counties in Texas planned issuing an evacuation order at 6 a.m. Sunday, and officials urged people to pack up pets and 10 days worth of clothes and supplies in case Gustav delivered another Rita-like punch to the area.

The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch Saturday stretching from east of High Island, located just south of Beaumont, to the Alabama-Florida border.

"Most people that went through Rita understand the seriousness of this decision when we start asking people to leave," Beaumont Fire Department Capt. Brad Penisson said.

Forecasters say Gustav will likely become a Category 5 with sustained winds of 160 mph or more by Sunday. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 36 hours.

Mandatory evacuations already began Saturday for special needs residents, such as those who have medical issues or lack transportation, in Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties.

More than 100 buses and 200 ambulances had either arrived in the Beaumont area or were en route to transport residents inland, Penisson said. Four C-130 aircraft Saturday were to begin evacuations of people with special medical needs, according to Perry's office.

Texas was preparing to shelter 10,000 residents from Louisiana who are unable to evacuate themselves, state officials said. They were to begin arriving by plane Sunday, with most being sent to the Dallas area and San Antonio.

More than four times that many evacuees from Louisiana could flock to Texas in all, according to Perry's office.

In Beaumont, close to where Rita roared ashore as a Category 3 hurricane in 2005, Penisson said residents were already boarding up homes and taking to the highways. Officials in neighboring Orange County were inundated "by thousands" of people calling to register for evacuation assistance, said Jill Frillou, a county spokeswoman.

"People are taking precautionary measures," Frillou said.

Hotels in East Texas began filling up as early as Thursday, when tourism officials in Tyler said most of the city's 2,200 rooms were already booked.

Perry has already activated 7,500 members of the Texas National Guard and issued a disaster declaration for 61 counties along the coast.

Areas south of Houston were less wary of Gustav. In