The storm surge from Hurricane Ike is already causing problems in coastal Texas, and now wreaking havoc for people planning to camp out early in Winfield.

The Walnut Valley Festival isn’t scheduled to begin until next Wednesday (9/17), and the Winfield City Police have ordered the campgrounds at the Winfield Fairgrounds temporarily closed and under mandatory evacuation. This order is for the safety of the people already camping on grounds for the festival.

The Walnut Valley folks are coordinating with the Civil Defense, and the City of Winfield to provide temporary camping sites locally. These temporary sites are:

• Black Creek Park
• The Broadway Sports Complex
• The Winfield City Lake
• The Winfield Livestock Auction Facility

If you are planning to head for Winfield and camp early, be sure to check with the festival organizers or one of these other camping sites before heading out.

A link to the 7 day weather forecast is featured on the front page of the Winfield web site, which fortunately does show sunny skies by festival time.