Bumper to bumper traffic streams out of the Port Arthur, Texas, area as evacuations were ordered for the approaching Hurricane Rita. The hurricane is expected to make landfall on Saturday morning. (Rick Loomis / LAT)
An evacuee from Hurricane Rita flashes a family photo out of his truck while struggling through bumper to bumper traffic heading away from Hurricane Rita. (Rick Loomis / LAT)
Evacuees from the Beaumont, Texas, area board buses hoping to get out of the path of the approaching Hurricane Rita. (Rick Loomis / LAT)
John Arline, 68, keeps a towel over his head to keep cool in the 100-degree temperatures in Beaumont, Texas, as residents gather at an evacuation center. (Rick Loomis / LAT)
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Bumper to bumper traffic streams out of the Port Arthur, Texas, area as evacuations were ordered. (Rick Loomis / LAT)
An evacuee waits patiently for buses to arrive and move her and several hundred others to safety from a collection point at Willie Ray Smith Middle School in Beaumont, Texas. (Rick Loomis / LAT)
Evacuees from the Beaumont, Texas, area prepare to file onto waiting buses to be transported out of the path of Hurricane Rita. (Rick Loomis / LAT)
An evacuee from the Beaumont, Texas, area waits to leave the Willie Ray Smith Middle School hoping to get out of the path of Hurricane Rita. (Rick Loomis / LAT)