Hurricane Charley Chronology

Monday, August 9

The hurricane season’s third tropical depression forms near the Windward Islands and threatens the eastern and central Caribbean.

Tuesday, August 10

The depression becomes Tropical Storm Charley in the Southern Caribbean.

Wednesday, August 11

AM – Tropical Storm Charley is expected to strengthen and strike the Southwest Florida coast as a category 1 hurricane. High winds and rain squalls also are expected in Southeast Florida within the next 48 hours.

Scheduled emergency preparedness drill for the Turkey Point nuclear power plant is postponed.

FPL employees prepare to respond as necessary to Tropical Storm Charley.

PM – Storm updated to category 1 status and projected to make landfall Friday evening in the Tampa-St. Petersburg vicinity, affecting Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Facilities in projected storm path begin site preparations while monitoring storm conditions.

Florida’s East coast is expected to begin to experience windy conditions and passing thunderstorms associated with Hurricane Charley.

FPL’s General Office Command Center is opened.

Employee services helpline announces extended hours beginning Friday evening.

Due to uncertainty surrounding storm’s path, FPL plans for a statewide impact on its electric system.

Thursday, August 12

Hurricane Charley is upgraded into a powerful category 2 storm as it heads for western Cuba and the area of Key West.

Employees in West, Central and Northern portions of Florida complete all necessary preparations for storm restoration plan and continue to monitor weather conditions.

Employees without storm assignments are reminded to be prepared to support restoration efforts.

Friday, Aug. 13

AM – After passing over western Cuba and west of Key West, Hurricane Charley strengthens to a category 3 storm.

Severe weather systems related to Hurricane Charley begins impacting Florida’s Southeast coast.

A total of 125,000 outages are reported in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties as Hurricane Charley continues toward the Southwest coast.

Restoration work in Southeast Florida and other affected counties begins.

PM – FPL estimates approximately 6,000 workers will be deployed in the field to begin assessment of damages and power restoration as quickly as possible after the hurricane strikes.

Commitments from approximately 3,500 additional work personnel are secured. More work crews and tree trimmers will be added once Hurricane Charley is no longer a threat to the Southeastern U.S. and it is safe for them to travel.

Staging sites are established on the West coast and in North and Central Florida to manage expanded number of people that will be moving into the affected areas, and to facilitate logistics and materials distribution.

Power is essentially restored to homes and businesses affected by the approaching storm on the Southeast coast.

The center of Hurricane Charley moves ashore in Southwest Florida at approximately 4 p.m. as a category 4 hurricane with winds estimated as high as 145 miles per hour.

Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Arcadia initially bear the brunt of the storm, which continues to move to the northeast toward the Orlando area.

Passing Orlando, Hurricane Charley passes over the FPL service areas of Sanford in Seminole County, and then Deltona and Daytona Beach in Volusia County, where it exits the state and moves into the Atlantic.

As Hurricane Charley moves across the state, significant power outages are reported in more than a dozen of the 34 counties served by FPL; the total number of counties within the FPL service area that are affected reaches 22.

FPL’s around-the-clock work to assess damage and restore power begins as soon as the storm passes and it is safe for crews to be on the roads.

Saturday, August 14

AM – FPL announces the total number of Hurricane Charley-related outages at 874,000; preliminary overnight assessments indicate that more than 650,000 customers remain without power.

Hardest hit are Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties on the Southwest coast and Volusia County on the East coast.

Fort Myers power plant, which shut itself down during the storm, returns to service; assessment of generation shows no major problems with power plants as a result of Hurricane Charley.

Helicopters and mobile crews are dispatched to assess damages to FPL’s transmission and distribution systems.

Initial air and mobile assessment of transmission system is followed by workers on foot to take a closer look at the damage.

Inspection reveals that the electric grid remained stable, but approximately 40 sections of transmission line spanning almost 600 miles is damaged and out of service, as well as 13 transmission substations. (Over next 2-3 days, all substations are operable and most of transmission damage is repaired.)

Damage to transmission includes downed and damaged structures (wood and concrete), downed wires, trees and debris in lines, broken insulators.

Transmission damage does not affect service restoration work, which begins immediately for essential customers such as hospitals, police and fire departments, and providers of community health, safety and public welfare.

PM – Within 12 hours of its initial assessment, FPL reduces the number of customers without power from 650,000 to 536,000.

At the end of day 1, power has been restored to 380,000 customers since the state first began feeling the effects of the hurricane on Friday and 490,000 customers remain without power.

Sunday, August 15

AM – Overnight restoration work brings the number of outages from 490,000 to 427,000.

PM – FPL President Armando Olivera visits areas hardest hit by Hurricane Charley; press conference held at Charlotte County airport.

Mr. Olivera announces that FPL will match, dollar for dollar, up to $250,000, any contributions that customers and employees make to the Red Cross.

First estimated restoration times are provided for North and Central Florida, and parts of Southwest Florida.

Estimated restoration is based on favorable weather conditions, access to the damaged electrical facilities and further assessments of damage sustained by the electrical system.

Assessment of damages continues in most heavily-devastated areas of Southwest Florida, primarily areas of Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Arcadia.

Additional line clearing crews are brought in to clear the way for repair crews to restore service, as well as more crews from other utilities.

More than 10,000 workers are involved in restoration; more than 4,500 FPL crews and contractors; more than 3,000 workers and contractors from other utility, and approximately 3,000 line clearing workers.

Among the electric utilities assisting in the restoration process are Gulf Power, CenterPoint, Cinergy, Illinois Power, American Electric Power, SECO, Entergy, Duke, Dominion and Allegheny.

At the end of day 2 following Hurricane Charley, FPL has restored power to 497,000 customers and 377,000 remain without power.

Monday, August 16

AM – Overnight restoration efforts further reduce the number of customers without power to 339,000.

PM – By the end of day 3, the number of outages is reduced to 297,000; power is restored to approximately two-thirds of the outages associated with Hurricane Charley.

Tuesday, August 17

AM – Progress overnight brings down the number of remaining outages to 284,000

Materials issued for replacement to date include approximately 800 power poles, 2.3 million feet of wires and more than 1,000 transformers.

Approximately 50 truck loads of materials are being deployed to the field and 75,000 gallons of fuel are being used daily for vehicles and other equipment necessary for restoration.

25,000 meals per day are being served to the restoration workforce. Other daily logistics: more than 4,000 rooms for lodging, 25,000 gallons of water, 55,000 pounds of ice

PM – FPL President Armando Olivera provides an update to the media in Daytona Beach and announces that the number of customers without power is further reduced to 214,000.

In less than 100 hours following the landfall of Hurricane Charley, power is restored to more than 75% of those who lost electricity due to the effects of the storm.

At the end of Day 4, FPL is working to reduce the number of outages to less than 200,000 and restoration is all but completed in Brevard and Flagler counties on Florida’s East coast, and in Englewood on Florida’s Southwest Coast.

Wednesday, August 18

AM – By first light, progress overnight reduces outages to 169,000; more than 700,000 customers are restored.

PM – Restoration is essentially completed in Collier County on the Southwest coast, where 130,000 power outages were reported in the wake of Hurricane Charley.

By evening, restoration also is essentially completed in the Daytona Beach area on the East coast.

In parts of North Florida, however, crews report more damage than originally estimated with hundreds of toppled trees hindering their access to power lines and damaged facilities in residential areas.

North Florida restoration also is slowed by severe thunderstorms and lightning – 7,000 lightning strikes are recorded in the vicinity of Seminole and Volusia counties on the East coast – but FPL continues to make progress in restoring power.

As night falls on Day 5, power is restored to 85% of those affected by the hurricane and a total of 132,000 remain without power.

Thursday, August 19

AM – Despite being slowed by inclement weather, restoration crews working through the night bring the number of FPL customers without power down to 113,000.

PM – At the Charlotte County Airport, officials turn an entire runway into a receiving area for what is expected to be thousands of power poles used in the restoration and rebuilding process.

Remaining outages in Hendry County are restored.

As Day 6 of the restoration efforts nears an end – and despite continued severe thunderstorms and lightning – FPL reports the number of its customers without power is down to 96,000.

Friday, August 20

AM – Crews working overnight continue to reduce the number of customers without power to just over 72,000. Of the 874,000 customers affected by Hurricane Charley, power is restored to more than 90 percent.

PM – As crews begin to wrap-up restoration efforts in North and Central Florida, they prepare to shift operations and join forces with the army of workers in Southwest Florida to rebuild the electrical system there.

Workers complete restoration in Sarasota and Seminole counties on the East coast and in Lee County in the Southwest. Only 5,500 customers remain out of service in Volusia County (Deltona area).

At the end of Day 7, just over 66,000 FPL customers remain without power, virtually all in the devastated counties of Charlotte and DeSoto on the West coast.

Saturday, August 21

AM – Electric service is restored to the remaining customers without power in Volusia County, and power restoration is essentially completed in North and Central Florida.

Two early-morning convoys of more than 200 trucks and 450 field crew members are mobilized and head for Southwest Florida, where they will join thousands of other crews already at work.

Also being sent are tons of equipment, materials and supplies to eight staging sites in Southwest Florida to support the massive rebuilding efforts in Charlotte and DeSoto counties.

PM – As the sun sets on Day 8, power is restored to more than 813,000 of the 874,000 customers affected by Hurricane Charley.

In Charlotte and DeSoto counties, 60,800 customers remain without power.

Sunday, August 22

AM – Restoration efforts continue overnight as all available crews are shifted to “ground zero” on the Southwest coast.

An additional 1,400 linemen and tree trimming personnel bring the number of restoration personnel in Southwest Florida to more than 6,000.

Barring unforeseen adverse weather, FPL still hopes to complete the massive rebuilding and restoration task in the remaining two counties by August 29 – only 16 days after Hurricane Charley destroyed the area.

Over the past week, an average of 100,000 customers per day– the equivalent of a medium-sized city – have had power restored.

PM – Although power is restored to some customers in the Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Arcadia areas, FPL officials caution that progress will be slower in the days ahead as power being to be restored neighborhood by neighborhood.

By the evening of Day 9, less than 50,000 customers remain without power in Charlotte and DeSoto counties.

Monday, Aug. 23

AM – Materials issued to date include 8,000 power poles and 3.5 million feet of wires. Also, 2,500 transformers, 1.15 million pieces of pole hardware, and 10,000 switches and arrestors.

PM – Excellent progress in rebuilding the electrical system in Charlotte and DeSoto counties is reported with the company on track to restore power to all customers able to receive service by August 29.

By the end of Day 10, a force of more than 7,000 restoration workers are focusing on the Ground Zero areas of Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Arcadia with the number of customers without power reduced to 42,100.

Tuesday, August 24

PM – The August 29 restoration target date is reaffirmed as power is restored to 844,000 of the 874,000 who lost electric service because of Hurricane Charley.

On Day 11, only 29,900 customers remain without power in Charlotte and DeSoto counties.

Wednesday, Aug. 25

PM – As the rebuilding continues on Day 12, 98% of the customers affected by Hurricane Charley have power restored.

The only remaining outages from the storm include 13,700 in Charlotte County and 3,500 in DeSoto County.

Thursday, Aug. 26

PM – By the end of Day 13, fewer than 6,000 remain without power; 3,000 in Charlotte County and slightly under than in DeSoto County.

Of the 874,000 customers who lost power because of Hurricane Charley, power is restored to 99%.

Friday, Aug. 27

AM – A non-stop workforce 10,000 strong focuses on the few remaining outages in Charlotte and DeSoto counties and the rebuilding of the electric system in those areas.

To date, more than 6,000 poles, 3.2 million feet of wires and 5,400 transformers have been used in the restoration.

PM – On Day 14 – two full days ahead of the estimated restoration time – all customers that are able to receive power have been restored and the major rebuilding of the electrical infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Charley is complete.

As restoration workers begin to leave, a contingency of crews remain in the area to continue to clean up operations and help restore service to customers whose home or business is unable to have power restored at this time.