LIVE OAK, Fla. — In a brief emergency meeting Thursday morning, the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners declared a local state of emergency.

The state of emergency is effective for seven days and ensures that the county is able to take steps to help mitigate potential damage from Hurricane Dorian.

Mayor Frank Davis also signed a state of emergency declaration for the City of Live Oak on Thursday morning effective until the threat from the storm passes.

It was also decided following the emergency meeting, held at the county’s Emergency Operations Center, that the county would provide sand for sandbags at the Live Oak Fire Department’s station on Duval Street as well as Branford’s public works department. Sandbags and shovels will also be on hand from the fire departments.

The local state of emergency declaration comes one day after Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 26 Florida counties as Dorian continues to track toward the Atlantic coast of Florida. DeSantis extended the state of emergency to the entire state Thursday.

According to the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office after a Thursday afternoon conference call with the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the storm’s path.

However, the latest projections expect Dorian to make landfall Monday afternoon near Vero Beach as a Category 4 hurricane.

Once it makes landfall, Dorian will make an “extremely slow” trek northward, according to the SCSO release.

Currently, there is a 36 percent chance Suwannee County will experience tropical storm force winds beginning Sunday afternoon.

The area is projected to receive between 8 to 10 inches of rain with heavier totals coming between Monday night and Thursday morning.