Gov. Rick Scott’s evacuation order hits close to home

Of the 5.6 million Floridians urged to leave their homes to escape the wrath of Hurricane Irma, at least one of them has a mansion to evacuate to: Gov. Rick Scott.

The state’s chief executive has moved his family from the hurricane zone in Naples to the state-funded governor’s mansion in Tallahassee, state officials said Friday. The governor's office confirmed early Saturday that his daughter Allison, her husband Pierre and their four sons, including two-week old twin boys, also joined him and his wife, Ann.

Scott spends many weeknights and weekends at his 3,400 square foot Naples waterfront mansion. The $15.3 million property is located on 1.3 acres on Gordon Drive, known as “millionaires row” in the Port Royal community.

With the 11 p.m. storm tracker showing Hurricane Irma’s strength increased to Category 5 and barreling closer to the west coast, the governor urged all residents in evacuation zones from Manatee to Collier counties to get on the road by noon Saturday or seek shelter. He had already urged anyone living between Monroe and Hendry counties to evacuate by midnight Friday.

“Not tonight. Not in an hour. Now,” Scott said Friday evening at the state’s emergency operations center in Tallahassee.

Related: Before Irma strikes, Gov. Scott tells South Florida evacuees: ‘You need to leave now.’

The governor, a multi-millionaire former hospital executive, owns his own corporate jet and has spent the last week preparing for Irma’s arrival, and traveling the state urging people to heed the storm. His home is along an area that forecasters say could see as much as 12 feet of storm surge.

Related: Hurricane Irma hits Cuba as Category 5 storm. Next stop: Florida Keys

This story was originally published September 9, 2017 at 2:24 AM with the headline "Gov. Rick Scott’s evacuation order hits close to home."