As of Sunday afternoon, a total of 4,166 people had sought refuge in 14 emergency shelters across Lake County.
There were also 487 pets at the county’s shelters set up to offer protection from Hurricane Irma.
To try to cope with the demand, Lake County opened an additional shelter at Mount Dora High School. It is a special needs facility, but is not pet-friendly.
The pet-friendly shelter set up by Lake County at the Villages Elementary of Lady Lake filled up quickly on Saturday, with many shelter-seekers coming from the Historic Side of The Villages. There were 506 people and 86 pets at the school on Rolling Acres Road.