SWAN QUARTER -- Vacationers streamed off Ocracoke Island today, after a mandatory evacuation order in advance of Hurricane Earl cut short their vacations.
A ferry boat from the island arrived at the Swan Quarter ferry terminal about 12:50 p.m., ushering people back to the reality of life on the mainland.
Bruce Meier and his family have camped on the island each summer for the past 15 years. Soon after leaving the boat, The Meiers, who live in Madison, Wis., sat in the parking lot in their minivan, poring over a map of North Carolina.
With Charlotte as their next destination, Meier and his wife and daughter were deciding how leisurely to make their trip. Earl nixed a day or two off their two-week stay on Ocracoke, but they didn't seem too disappointed.
"We're not going to mess with 65 mph winds," Meier said.
The Meiers were three of an estimated 5,800 tourists that will need to leave Ocracoke, said Mitchell Newman, manager of the Swan Quarter ferry terminal. About 800 people live full-time on the island.
The timing of the evacuation, with only a few days left before the unofficial end of summer, will take a toll on Ocracoke's economy.
"I hate to see them do it this time of year," Newman said.
Dare County emergency officials ordered the evacuation of visitors from both Ocracoke and Hatteras islands this morning. Currituck County officials are discussing whether to evacuate the community of Corova, whose 800 homes near the Virginia border are reachable only by 4-wheel drive vehicles via the beach. About 100 people live in the community year-round.
Officials in Carteret County are discussing the possible evacuation of its barrier island communities as well.
