CHARLOTTE, N.C. - As thousands of people left homeless by Hurricane Katrina stream out of the Gulf region, a few have trickled into North Carolina looking for shelter and comfort.

So far, state government, schools, colleges and hospitals have obliged.

Gov. Mike Easley has ordered three N.C. National Guard armories to remain open as staging areas for any relief efforts. If area shelters fill up, the armories also could be used as shelters for evacuees fleeing from the storm's devastation, state officials said.

As of Friday, the shelters in Asheville, Gastonia and Charlotte had not taken in any refugees. And the state has no way to track the estimated number of evacuees who have settled in North Carolina, said Patty McQuillan, spokeswoman for the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.

But about 70 people from several displaced families stayed Thursday night at an American Red Cross shelter in a Charlotte high school.

"We don't have a major influx in the system," Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools spokeswoman Natasha Suber said Friday. "They have all left and they are staying with family members."

A similar shelter in Asheville has also helped a few people and is bracing for more.

"We are expecting more people, simply because folks are having to find friends and family to stay with who are away from that area," said Scott Rogers, executive director of the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian Ministry. "They're anticipating it being a couple of weeks now before they can even be considered for returning."

The agency has also assisted several people from Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi who need help with food or prescriptions, he said.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Wake Forest University, Peace and Bennett colleges and other colleges in the state also have offered late admission to stranded students.

Guilford County Schools encouraged displaced teachers and other educators to come to the district for jobs.

"We extend our condolences at this time, understanding that people are looking for a sense of stability as they begin the process of rebuilding their lives," Guilford County Schools Superintendent Terry Grier said. "The stories we have heard are overwhelming, and we want people to know that the district is here to help."