country music singer troy gentry killed in a chopper crash today in south jersey. but the big story on "action news" tonight is the final preparations for irma's impact on florida. more than 660,000 residents must evacuate and find hurricane proof shelter. the county plans to open 43 shelters with room for more than 1,000 people by tonight. hundreds of thousands have already fled in anticipation of irma's winds and storm surge. many roads leaving the state have been jammed with traffic. florida governor rick scott is warning residents in south florida they only have hours left to evacuate. "action news" anchor brian taff is in florida with more on the evacuations and hurricane preparations. gray hall is at philadelphia international airport where folks are arriving on some of those final flights from florida but first let's get the latest track of hurricane irma from meteorologist cecily tynan. >> monica, the national hurricane center is sending out dire warnings to the residents in the florida keys to get out now because there

will be no safe place on the keys when this storm hits. first of all, it's enormous and it's actually gotten bigger. the eye wall is now 40 miles across. the maximum sustained winds did weaken a little bit over the past 24 hours due to that eye wall replacement cycle but as it moves north of cuba it's moving into warmer waters. that will likely intensify the storm. so, the latest from the national hurricane center does bring it into the florida keys, central florida keys around marathon as a category five hurricane, very early sunday morning, maximum sustained winds 160 miles per hour, gusts more than 200 miles per hour. and continuing to make that turn near naples florida, by sunday morning as a category four hurricane and then pushing it just west of the spine of the florida peninsula by jacksonville a tropical storm and then pushing all that heavy rain into georgia as a tropical storm. so, we have hurricane warnings in effect for all of south florida, really every place

south of fort pierce also hurricane watches in effect for tampa and melbourne. looks like the eye of that storm will be between tampa and orlando as it moves inland, moves up the peninsula. now, this is one of the threats. we're looking at widespread wind damage. by sunday morning, key largo wind gusts up to 122 miles per hour. those winds will extend up through the north, extensive wind damage storm surge and very heavy rain. more details in the full accuweather forecast. monica. >> thank you cecily. "action news" anchor brian taff headed to florida to us today to cover mayoral's impact and aftermath. he made his way to okeechobee. he joins us from there live. tell us about your travels through that state today. >> reporter: well, monica, in word it's been frustrating but there are few complaints about that fact today. people are just intent on getting where they're going. there is a full scale statewide effort to get out of harm's way today and even as we head south that means

millions of floridians are heading north just trying to get out of this state. here's how that manifested itself in the airport this morning. we took some video on our cell phone just after we got off the plane at orlando international airport. you can see the line stretching from one end of the other. these people know they are going to have quite some wait ahead of them to get on the plane, then they know there will be some wait to get on board the plane once they get to the gate. there are countless delays even as airlines are making every effort not to cancel flights. there is incredible air traffic heading into florida today to accommodate all these extra passengers. that accommodate -- made for a delay for us leaving philadelphia this morning. airlines doing everything they can to get everyone out. also the roads. we watched drone6 here in okeechobee at a rest stop just a short time ago and you can see the scene here traffic lining up from the gas tanks back out onto the florida turnpike where it has been

absolute gridlock for much of the day on the northbound lanes and take a look, police are directing traffic here at this gas station trying to ensure order. i spoke to one member of the florida highway patrol about how people are fairing today. >> they have been in very good spirits. we've had a few here and there but for the most part everybody's been cooperative. we're just trying to keep an orderly fashion so that we can keep the traffic from backing out onto the main line so that we can keep that opened. right now as you can see it's pretty successful. there have been times where it's come close though. >> reporter: police say they expect things will change over the next 24 hours as more people begin to heed those warnings and hit the road. they say they're prepared doing everything they can to get everyone to safety and as fast as they can. for now lie life in okeechobee florida brian taff channel6 "action news." monica. >> thank you brian. be careful. one of the final flights leaving fort lauderdale florida arrived at trenton mercer airport this afternoon.

frontier airline flights from trenton to florida are suspended until at least tuesday. "action news" reporter gray hall at philadelphia international airport right now where there was a similar scene, the scramble is on to fly out of florida before the airports close ahead of that storm, isn't it, gray? >> reporter: absolutely right, monica. let me tell you the reality is here that a whole lot of people have already evacuated florida but there are a whole lot of people still left behind. those who have evacuated tell me it was just not worth the risk. they had to get out. >> and by water, can't buy eyes, ice. >> reporter: he cut his trip short to escape the storm. >> it wasn't like mass hysteria but because of i've never been a hurricane situation i've never seen a line for gas, people have to wait in line for like 45 minutes just to get gas and i never seen, you know, people being limited to just buy one case of water and i've never

seen, you know, people boarding up homes. >> reporter: as thousands of people look to evacuate florida many airlines have canceled flights and airports are preparing to close until the storm passes. abc news is reporting american delta and united flights out of miami respect already -- are already sold out. >> this one is just too big its bigger than all four of us with harvey everyone was extra prepared which is good to see. >> reporter: many fear if they do not make it out they will be stranded those who made it safely say the fear is not over. friends and loved ones are still left behind. >> stop the worry. friends down there are more like family and they're saying the power will be out for a couple days, so we probably won't be able to get ahold of them. >> reporter: many families grateful to be reunited. all they can do is sit back and wait for what irma will do and what life will be like when they return to florida. >> just devastation 'cause we're beach side s i don't know because i am really from

this area so i've only been there for 10 years and besides last year we've really been very lucky. >> reporter: all right, so back out live as you can imagine many folks have left everything behind. they're hoping the storm is not as bad as it appears and this reminder for you, if you have family coming in from for fort lauderdale that last flight arrives about 10:30. gray hall channel6 "action news." >> thank you gray. david muir will have broadcast live from florida tonight and have continuing coverage of hurricane irma for you next. that's at 6:30 right after "action news." we are also tracking the path of hurricane irma for you in our 6abc app and we'll alert to you any updates as the storm progresses and you can get the latest from our team of meteorologists on any possible impact here. that's 6abc app by the way a free download for your mobile device. >> ♪ >> now to breaking news from medford, new jersey, where a country music singer is among

two people killed in this helicopter crash this afternoon. troy gentry of the popular country duo montgomery gentry has died t it happened just before 1 o'clock in this field near the runway of the flying w airport. the band had been scheduled to perform this evening at a venue at that airport. gentry was 50 years old. new at 6:00 breaking news from newark, delaware, where a man has been arrested for an attempted kidnapping at a day-care center. delaware state police say 47-year-old calvin davis faces numerous charges including kidnapping and assault on a law enforcement officer. police say davis got into the happy kids academy it's on old baltimore pike at 7:00 this morning. now, after getting into a confrontations with employees there, he reportedly grabbed two infants. employees were able to get both infants away from him and he fled. police later tracked davis to an apartment complex. they had to use a taser on

him. one officer was hurt in that scuffle. the infants fortunately were not seriously hurt. a disturbing find in delaware county today. more than two dozen bags of the deadly opioid fentanyl were found in the parking lot of saint bernadette's elementary school. fortunately it was the parents who found the drugs. "action news" reporter vernon odom live at upper darby police department headquarters with that story. vernon. >> reporter: good evening, monica. tonight the parents at the saint bernadette school here in upper darby are shocked and very angry in the wake of what was discovered on their school grounds yesterday. but tonight police tell me they are closing in on the person they believe is responsible. tonight upper darby police have released these photos of nearly 30 bags of the opioid derivative fentanyl packaged for sale at this tiny drexel hill school on school grounds during the kindergarten dismissal time yesterday.

the parents here at saint bernadette school grades k through eight are stunned by this development. >> i'm shocked to hear that it might be a parent or a guardian. >> reporter: police superintendent michael chitwood believes a parent or a guardian may have dropped the bags there by accident. >> it had nothing to do with the school, it had nothing to do with dealing at the school. it looks like it right now preliminarily it looks like a parent dropped it brought it and dropped it. >> this is a wonderful school. just hopefully they get to the bottom of it. glad, you know, the kids didn't come in contact with it. very dangerous stuff. >> reporter: fentanyl is extremely lethal if it's inhaled or touches the skin. fortunately these bags were sealed tight. fentanyl can be 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin. police tell me they do have a prime suspect in mind. >> drug possession, that's all but it's stupidity if there was a charge but we can't do that. lack of common sense,

stupidity, being an idiot, i mean, you know, taking draws drugs to a school makes no sense as all. >> reporter: monica, the police superintendent says an arrest in this case may not come until sometime next week as their investigation continues. i'm vernon odom, channel6 "action news" at police headquarters in upper darby. >> thank you so much vernon. coming up on "action news" for you tonight a big block party just kicked off a 14 month centennial celebration of the ben franklin parkway. and the eagles traded john dorenbos to the saints may have saved his life. details of a new medical diagnosis. cecily. >> if you're heading out on this friday night you definitely do that want to take a jacket, temperatures dropping into the low 60's by midnight and the cool weather is sticking around. i'll have more the details and more information on hurricane irma in the "action news" seven-day forecast. >> we'll have those stories and more when "action news" continues for you tonight. >> ♪

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>> it is a party for the parkway. the iconic ben franklin parkway is turning 100 years old and to celebrate moore college of art and design and drexel college of natural is hosting a block party. it's the official kickoff of the celebration representing the time it took to break ground and complete the parkway. a mural was commissioned for the parkway centennial as well. artist marian singer created this work titled parkway day dream. it was created on the north tower of the park town place residences. it dee predict views from the residences towards center city and logan square aren't pennsauken high school giving

students there an opportunity to meet the demands of the workforce they will encounter when they graduate. today marked the official opening of the school's vocational program. students can take courses in carpentry cosmetology automotive technology and culinary arts. state senate president steve sweeney proposed expanding vo-tech programs statewide in order to meet the high demand for skilled workers. back to school shopping can be a strain on some families finances. we stepped in to help deserving children get what they need. we filled 100 brand new disney back packs with all the great supplies and our news director tom davis and general manager bernie prazenica were on hand to help. the back packs were distributed to local police athletic league centers. 6abc has been donated back packs to pal for 10 years. >> ♪

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>> the ducis is here. the eagles game plan getting last minute tweaks. >> they better figure it out. this is a team they've lost their last five games to.

game on sunday. the eagles season opener at washington is drawing closer. the eagles are anxious to see their two new receivers in action, torrey smith and alshon jeffery. a bit of pressure on the bird. they haven't won at washington since 2013 and of course division games always mean more. >> it means a lot. so, if we can get this win early, pays off big time in the end so if you can take care of your business great things generally happen. got to go away on the road so road games are tough as it is. that's a completely different town so looking forward to it. i think we'll be ready in due time so i'm excited about it. >> the eagles trade of john dorenbos to the saints may have saved his life. when the saints took the long -- sent the long snapper for a physical a heart condition was discovered. dorenbos has an aortic aneurysm that will require open heart surgery. the saints will place him on

the nonfootball injury list. his former eagles teammates are expressing concern. >> i haven't had a chance to talk to him. i know he's been busy. i know donny talked to him and heard good things from him and he's very positive right now so i'm just really praying for him and his family. >> we take our health for granted sometimes. we play a gladiator sport and play it for so long like jon did. we're here with him. >> get better jon. villanova and temple meet tomorrow at the linc. temple hoping to bounce back from last week's loss to notre dame. while the office didn't look that bad, the defense looked horrid. as for the cats they know it's a big challenge. but they're excited. >> they're really looking forward to it. i'm glad we did have an opportunity to get a game under our belt before we open up with a fbs opponent so we made a few first game mistakes

and obviously try to make some adjustments this week going into the second game but whenever you step up to a fbs team and temple is no different, you got your work cut out for you. >> ♪ >> we'll have much more on this matchup tomorrow morning. temple football playbook airs during the 9:30 a.m. half hour of "action news". fourth ranked penn state in action tomorrow the nittany lions will host pitt you can see it on 6abc at three:30. jeff skversky and the high school huddle teamworking on tonight's big show. one of the many games we'll bring you is camden catholic at camden. high school huddle airs tonight at 11:30 after "action news." tonight the phillies will play game two of their four game set with the nationals. jake thompson will start for the phils. j.p. crawford will play short stop since being called up. freddy galvis is getting a night off. crawford will hit eighth. crawford is off to a one and lever 11 start at the plate.

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>> cecily tynan here with the dire hurricane irma forecast. >> south florida will start to feel the tropical storm force winds in about 12 hours and it could make landfall as a category five hurricane. >> oh, my. >> i want to head over to the "action news" weather center and talk about the categories of hurricanes. it starts with a category one hurricane. it's all based on winds and the damage the wind can cause. now, this is minimal damage. this is where you get some branches from trees that are basically broken off.

it's not that extensive. as we move to a category two, this is more extensive. this is when we begin to see trees uprooted start to see damage to homes, siding pulled off. when you get to a category three hurricane this is major. this is when we're looking at devastating damage, a lot of well constructed homes will be damaged severely, a lot of trees will be uprooted. category four, catastrophic. this is when a lot of homes will be completely destroyed and a cat five, what irma will likely be when it makes landfall, this is when a lot of well constructed buildings will actually be flattened. let's talk about the track because the track has shifted a little bit more to the west and it does show more intensity. the latest track brings it as a category five hurricane over the central florida keys near marathon early sunday morning, about 2 o'clock in the morning, maximum sustained winds 160 miles per hour. then it moves it towards the north near naples florida as a

cat four hurricane likely continuing to move up just west of the center of the peninsula, gradually decreasing around jacksonville, a tropical storm and then continuing to push to the north west near atlanta pulling in a lot of very heavy rain. so, what we're talking about, the winds. i discussed that earlier. it's kind of a one-two-three punch. we have the winds, we have the storm surge the most deadly part of a hurricane five to 10 feet along the southeast coast. the southwest coast six to 12 and then you get the rain causing the fresh water flooding, east of the center of that track rain 10 to 15 feet so we're talking about storm surge flooding, also flooding from the rain. back at home fortunately no flooding. we have a few light showers with a cold front moving through. easton right now a shower, another shower heading towards allentown. what this front will do is bring us a reinforcing shot of cool air for the weekend. already cool out there. 71 in philadelphia. allentown 69. wilmington 71. the poconos currently 55.

satellite and radar showing here are some of the building clouds, scattered showers with the front. the front continues to push in the east overnight. tonight an isolated shower happening northwest, happening now. otherwise cool and crisp, 48 degrees in the cooler suburbs, about 56 degrees for center city. and for the weekend, this very broad area of high pressure is right over us. it will be cool. saturday 71. on sunday, 74. and irma will cause a high risk of rip currents at the jersey shore and the delaware beaches so please be careful. lifeguards no longer on duty on the beaches, very nice temps in the 70's but the surf will be rough. the seven-day forecast tomorrow mix of sun and clouds, great weather for the temple-villanova game at the linc. the high 71. sun bump it up to 74 degrees, mostly sunny. monday still nice partly sunny 76. tuesday it begins to cloud up with the chance of rain tuesday night from what's left of irma. the high 73. and wednesday early light

rain. doesn't look like we'll get much rain at all from irma. it kind of dies out over the tennessee valley, 74. 76 degrees on thursday and friday also 76 so very quiet weather for us. we do have another update coming in from the national hurricane center tonight at 11:00. i'll have all the details on "action news" then. >> thank you cecily. abc's "world news tonight" with david muir is next here on channel6. "action news" continues at 10:00 on phl17 with brian taff sharrie williams adam joseph and ducis rodgers. join us for "action news" at 11:00 on channel6. for the entire "action news" team, i'm monica malpass. have a good night. hope to see you right here at 11:00. >> ♪ i'm danny.

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tonight, breaking news as we come on the air. the new track just out, hurricane irma is now forecast to make landfall in florida as a category 5 hurricane, the worst case scenario. extreme concern tonight for the florida keys, miami, and all of south florida. nearly 2 million racing to safety. traffic jams. cars running out of fuel abandoned. and miami now bracing for a devastating storm surge. florida's governor rick scott is right here tonight. his warning. the deadly path already. irma steamrolling turks and caicos and the bahamas. new images coming in from st. martin. and we are just now seeing the devastation in the british virgin islands. in the u.s., states of emergency across several states. the aerials, the long lines, shelters already full as we take you inside the urgent effort to open more.