SAN ANTONIO—The roughly 600 Hurricane Ike evacuees living in a San Antonio shelter have been sent home, and officials said the shelter should close Thursday.

Half of the evacuees went home on buses Tuesday, and the remaining 304 were bused from Port San Antonio back to their island home Wednesday, said Sonia Quirino, a spokeswoman for the city of San Antonio.

Six others who showed up Wednesday from hotels and private residences will be sent to Galveston on Thursday morning, then the shelter will close, Quirino said.

Upon returning to Galveston, many of the evacuees were expected to stay in an elementary school where tents that could accommodate up to 1,000 people had been set up.

“We’re trying to be realistic about what’s even available in the city should you choose to return,” Alicia Cahill, a spokeswoman for the city of Galveston, said in a story on the San Antonio Express-News Web site. “At the moment, all of our hotels and rental units are full.”

The island remains under a boil-water notice and many stores and gas stations remain closed.

Most returning residents said they understood to expect to find their homes destroyed and possessions scattered.