4,000 National Guard members now activated for Hurricane Irma

Florida Gov. Rick Scott activated another 3,000 members of the Florida Army and Air National Guard on Thursday as part of additional preparations for Hurricane Irma, which is poised to hit South Florida this weekend.

Scott began deploying members on Tuesday after he issued a statewide emergency declaration on Monday night. About 1,000 Guard members were already active by the end of Wednesday.

The remaining 3,000 members of the 7,000-member Guard who are not yet activated will report for duty by Friday morning.

The Guard members are helping with ongoing shelter operations and evacuations, Scott said.

“We are expecting our state to have major impacts from Hurricane Irma and we are taking aggressive actions to make sure Florida is prepared,” Scott said.

He added of the Guard members: “These men and women are putting themselves in harm’s way to save the lives of their fellow Floridians while many of their own families are evacuating. I am proud of their commitment to keeping our families safe.”

This story was originally published September 7, 2017 at 11:26 AM with the headline "4,000 National Guard members now activated for Hurricane Irma."