YNOT – As Hurricane Irene takes aim at the Atlantic Seaboard, Wasteland.com has opened its New Hampshire compound to performing and production members of the BDSM community and their families. Founder Colin Rowntree said the facility, located on high ground northwest of Boston, is stocked with supplies, has private power sources and reliable internet connections, and will provide a safe haven from the potentially destructive storm.

“It is important that our compound, which is fully capable of withstanding some of the fiercest weather conditions, be open to everyone in our community who is in need of a place to stay as Hurricane Irene begins to affect our lives and the safety of our families,” Rowntree said late Friday.

“We already have talent and performers from New York, Massachusetts and neighboring states making their way towards our place on high ground northwest of Boston,” he continued. “Here they have a place to rest, food supplies, lots of generators, a dedicated internet line and everything else needed to maintain contact with their families while conducting their everyday lives with as little disruption as possible.”

Any fetish performer in need, even if he or she has not worked with Wasteland.com, may contact the company at [email=mail@rowntree.net]mail@rowntree.net[/email].

Rowntree indicated offering shelter is the least he can do for a community that has given him and his family much over the 17 years of Wasteland’s existence. Wasteland is able to create and distribute high-end, artistic images and videos only because of the talent with whom the company works.

At 5 p.m. ET Friday, the National Hurricane Center expected Irene to hit the North Carolina coastline as a Category 2 hurricane by Friday night or early Saturday morning, with wind speeds near 100 mph. Little change in strength is predicted as the storm moves up the Mid-Atlantic coast and into New England on Saturday and Sunday. Hurricane-force winds extend outward 90 miles from the storm’s center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 290 miles, the NHC advisory said.

Irene is the first storm of its size to threaten New England since 1985, when Hurricane Gloria, a Category 2 storm, caused moderate wind damage across the center of Long Island. Although Irene’s winds are predicted to be about the same strength as those brought by Gloria, the NHC said the potential storm surge accompanying Irene could be higher, causing water at sea level to rise as much as four to eight feet.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday issued the first-ever mandatory evacuation order for the low-lying areas of all five boroughs ahead of Irene’s projected landfall. Most of the city’s mass-transit systems will shut down by noon Saturday, and the East River bridges will close if winds reach 50 mph.