Hurricane Frances Chronology

Tuesday, Aug. 31

Although still a great distance away from Florida , a careful watch of Hurricane Frances begins.

While the path of the storm and its possible landfall cannot be accurately predicted, employees are reminded to begin thinking of home preparations and supplies needed.

Wednesday, Sept. 1

Powerful and the size of Texas – twice the size of Hurricane Charley – Frances is projected to make landfall somewhere on the east coast of Florida within a few days as a potential category 4 storm.

With the exact landfall site uncertain, FPL activates its comprehensive storm emergency plan to deal with anticipated damages and outages due to Frances .

Customers are urged to take steps to be safe and protect their families before and after the storm.

Since the Juno Beach facility is on a barrier island and in a mandatory evacuation zone, employees are told to prepare for possible evacuation.

Thursday, Sept. 2

As the storm speeds toward Florida, plans are quickly put into place; a mandatory evacuation order that includes Juno Beach goes into effect at 2 p.m., and employees are told to prepare their homes for the impending storm.

South Florida highways are clogged by people fleeing the potential storm, currently a category 3, and as mandatory evacuations are ordered in parts of 16 counties, voluntary evacuations take place in five other counties.

The Red Cross, mounting what it describes as the largest-ever response to a domestic natural disaster, opens 82 shelters in Florida ; by nightfall approximately 21,000 people have taken shelter.

Friday, Sept. 3

Forecasters predict landfall for Hurricane Frances sometime Saturday afternoon in the middle of Florida’s eastern coast.

Although downgraded to a category 2 hurricane, forecasters warn that the Frances could strengthen as it moves over the warm waters between Florida and the Bahamas .

Feeder bands well in advance of the storm cause significant power outages in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties; crews work feverishly to restore power.

By afternoon, ever-expanding areas of Florida are experiencing wind gusts as high as 39 miles per hour, the lower end of tropical-storm intensity.

Hurricane warnings are in effect for much of Florida ’s eastern coastline and the largest evacuation in history, covering nearly 2.5 million people, is taking place.

Saturday, Sept. 4

As Hurricane Frances relentlessly lashes the central and western Bahamas, the east coast of Florida braces for a storm that is expected to bring winds of well over 100 miles per hour and dump possibly as much as 20 inches on some areas.

Because of the size, intensity, path and slow-moving nature of the storm, FPL advises customers to plan and prepare for long, extended electrical service outages.

As the storm slows further – and given its enormous size – forecasters say the fury of Frances could continue for 24 to 36 hours after landfall.

The exact landfall location is still not known as the storm virtually stalls to the east of south/central Florida; throughout the day violent feeder-bands pound a large portion of FPL’s service area.

By early evening, the storm has knocked out power to 1.4 million FPL customers in a dozen counties – from Volusia to the north to Miami-Dade in the south – with the worst yet to come.

After an all-day barrage of howling winds and frequently relentless rain, the center of Hurricane Frances makes landfall around midnight in Martin County, Florida, with the western portion of the eyewall passing over northeastern Palm Beach County and counties to the immediate north.

The storm slowly moves west, battering Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast area to the north hour after hour with heavy rains and winds in excess of 100 miles an hour.

Hurricane winds extend over a wide area of FPL’s service area, creating a wide swath of destruction.

Sunday, Sept. 5

By 5 a.m. – with hurricane warnings still in effect for the entire east coast of Florida from Fernandina Beach to south of Florida City – Frances continues on a path just north of Lake Okeechobee.

In addition to high winds, copious amounts of rainfall are produced in some areas as the storm slowly moves across Florida ; Palm Beach International Airport records 13 inches of rain.

Although Miami-Dade and Broward County continue to experience sporadic feeder bands from the tail of the storm, restoration work begins on outages in those areas.

Further north, the storm rages on, and large numbers of outages are reported in FPL’s northern-most service areas.

Feeder bands also extend to parts of Southwest Florida served by FPL, causing yet more outages.

By evening, the worst is over for areas on the east coast and Frances begins to lose much of her punch as she moves across the state toward the Gulf of Mexico, from where she will once again enter Florida ’s Panhandle area.

At the height of the storm, millions of Floridians are without power; ultimately, residents in 57 of the state’s 67 counties are affected.

Virtually every inch of FPL’s 27,000 square-mile service area is affected; in all, Frances causes 2.8 million FPL customers to lose power, three times the number affected by Hurricane Charley in the Aug. 13 storm.

Other comparisons: Frances affected 35 counties versus 22 for Charley; hurricane force winds extended 140 miles wide versus 40 miles; gale force winds extended 320 miles versus 115; the hours of impact from Frances were 55 versus 14.

Monday, Sept. 6

Assessments of the damage caused by Hurricane Francis begin; at the same time, the company’s restoration specialists have worked through the night to restore power to as many customers as possible, focusing on essential customers.

By mid-morning, power is restored to nearly 1.1 million of the 2.8 million customers affected by Hurricane Frances since she began to approach Florida on Friday.

Nearly 1.7 million FPL customers throughout 30 counties remain without power.

Out-of-state crews begin traveling south to assist in the restoration; their trip is slowed by bad weather and heavy traffic caused by residents returning to their homes.

In all, FPL expects to have a work force of more than 10,000 strong.

By nightfall, power is restored to 1.5 million customers in less than two days and restoration completion targets are announced for Miami-Dade, Broward, Lee and Collier counties; just over 1.3 million customers remain without power.

An assessment of the damages in the hardest hit areas of Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast begins, and FPL announces it will have restoration target dates for those areas by Thursday.

Tuesday, Sept. 7

Overnight work reduces the number of outages related to Hurricane Frances to 1.2 million.

Assessments of the hardest-hit areas in FPL’s northern service area begin; earlier assessments were not possible due to lingering severe weather.

About one-third of the 6,000 restoration workers who will be joining FPL crews begin arriving at staging sites located on the eastern coast of Florida to assist in the massive restoration task.

Staging sites are opened in Miami-Dade, Broward and Volusia counties.

One of the biggest problems facing restoration crews is the widespread amount of downed trees and other debris hindering access to electric facilities; additional tree trimming and removal crews are dispatched to help clear those facilities.

Near the close of day, the number of customers without power is reduced to 927,000.

Wednesday, Sept. 8

Overnight work reduces the number without power to 813,000; nearly 2 million customers have had their power restored since Frances began battering Florida just 72 hours earlier.

Staging sites open in Palm Beach County as restoration efforts intensify in the hard-hit areas of Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties; in all, the company will be working from more than a dozen staging sites up and down the east coast.

The staging sites provide materials, equipment, fuel, meals and work dispatch capabilities for field crews and augment restoration operations at 35 FPL service centers.

The company continues to add additional resources and says it now expects to have more than 12,000 men and women working system-wide on restoration.

FPL expects to have power restored to in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hendry, Lee and Union counties restored soon; as restoration is completed in those areas, crews will move to supplement restoration underway in Palm Beach, the Treasure Coast, and northern counties including Volusia, Seminole and Brevard.

With commitments from 38 utilities, outside crews are arriving from throughout the United States and as far away as Canada .

While the majority of the initially-requested 6,000 non-FPL crews are already in Florida, FPL continues to pursue other resources as it restores and assesses the hardest hit areas by Frances.

By the end of the day, power is restored to an additional 108,000 customers, bringing the number without power down to 705,000.

Thursday, Sept. 9

Overnight, the number without power is reduced to 680,000 with restoration completed in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Hendry, Lee and Union counties.

Four days after Frances , power is restored to 2.1 million homes and businesses of the 2.8 million that had lost power due to the storm.

Power is expected to be restored to all of Miami-Dade County by the end of the day and to Broward County by the end of Friday.

Dates when restoration can be expected for Palm Beach County , the Treasure Coast and counties in the north-central area are announced; the dates range from Sept. 15 to Sept. 19.

The company announces that nearly 15,000 men and women are now committed to the restoration process, working night and day to restore power; more than 6,000 are stationed and working in the hardest-hit areas.

With Hurricane Ivan a potential threat, the company is closely monitoring the movements of this latest major hurricane.

By the end of the day, power is restored to nearly 80 percent (nearly 2.2 million) of FPL customers affected by Frances and 589,000 remain without power.

Friday, Sept. 10

Five days after Frances, substantial progress overnight reduces the number without power to 544,000; power is restored to all of Dade County on schedule.

The total work force is up to more than 9,000 FPL field restoration personnel and approximately 7,100 out-of-state crews.

Hurricane Ivan continues to be monitored; restoration work is not being affected, however.

During the day, nearly 130,000 customers have their power restored, bringing the number of those without power down to 415,000.

Saturday, Sept. 11

On the sixth day after Frances, another excellent night of restoration reduces outages to 374,000; most are in the hard-hit counties of Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Brevard, and the northern counties of Volusia and St. Johns .

Restoration is essentially completed in Broward, Manatee and Sarasota counties, as per schedule.

More than 5,000 restoration personnel are working in the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast areas; in Brevard County, 1,600 workers are on the ground, and 1,200 are working to get the power back in Volusia County.

Power is restored to approximately 95 percent of essential facilities – facilities that support the infrastructure and safety of the communities in the most devastated areas.

As the threat from Hurricane Ivan diminishes, restoration efforts continue at full speed and around the clock.

Less than a week after Frances came ashore near Palm Beach County , power is restored to about 90 percent of the 2.8 million customers affected by the storm, leaving 336,000 still without power.

Sunday, Sept. 12

Overnight work heading into the seventh day of restoration after Frances reduces the number of outages to just over 300,000 and power has been restored to nearly 2.5 million customers.

While continuing to monitor Hurricane Ivan, FPL estimates that it expects less than 300 out-of-state utility crews may have to return to their home territories in the South should their areas of service be affected by the storm.

By late evening, the number of outages is reduced to 229,000, or 92 percent of the 2.8 million who lost power in the wake of Hurricane Frances.

Monday, Sept. 13

Overnight progress reduces the total number of FPL customers without power to just under 192,000.

The company reports that 99 percent of essential facilities in the hardest-hit areas have power, including all hospitals and public schools.

Having for the most part restored the “backbone” of its electrical grid throughout the state, restoration efforts turn toward the difficult and time-consuming task of moving into neighborhoods and backyards, repairing damage street-by-street, pole-by-pole.

The scope of the restoration efforts in the aftermath of Frances are reflected in the daily support to field personnel – 43,000 meals, 22,000 gallons of water, 16,000 rooms, 246 buses to shuttle crews.

The fuel needs for the equipment being used in the restoration – including 7,684 trucks – is 192,000 gallons a day.

To date, materials issued include 2,400 poles, 469 miles of wires, and more than 3,000 transformers.

The restoration effort includes workers from two dozen utilities as far north as Canada and as far west as Colorado, as well as more than 50 contractors from across the nation; in all, the non-FPL force totals more than 7,400.

With good weather over the weekend allowing crews to work without interruptions, the company announces that power should be restored to all customers affected by Hurricane Frances by Friday – 24 too 48 hours ahead of schedule for 13 of the 14 remaining counties with customers without electricity.

Eight days after Hurricane Frances, power is restored to 94 percent of customers affected with just under 158,000 customers without power.

Tuesday, Sept. 14

The number without power is reduced to 144,000 after overnight restoration work; power is restored to 2,642,000 of the more than 2,786,000 customers affected by Frances.

While some crews from out-of-state utilities return to their home areas in advance of Hurricane Ivan, they are replaced by workers from other utilities and the restoration workforce remains at approximately 16,000.

By late afternoon, and nine days after Hurricane Francis, power is restored to all but 129,500 customers, or 95 percent of the 2.8 million that lost power in the wake of Hurricane Frances.

Wednesday, Sept. 15

With restoration 97 percent complete, FPL works in the hardest hit areas as 88,000 remain without power.

Work in 13 north and central Florida counties affected by Hurricane Francis is complete or is expected to be so by the end of the day.

Also expected to be completed at end of day is the restoration of south Palm Beach County from Boynton Beach south to the Broward County line.

Ten days after Hurricane Francis exited FPL territory, the company nears completion of its massive restoration efforts with 69,600 customers still without power.

Thursday, Sept. 16

Overnight work keeps the company on track to complete restoration to nearly 2.8 million customers affected by Hurricane Francis 11 days ago by the end of Friday; just 28,500 outages remain.

Power restoration is completed on schedule in south Palm Beach County from Boynton Beach south to the Broward County Line; restoration in the harder-hit northern part of the county should be completed by Friday.

Customers without power are reminded to check their weatherhead for damages and to contact a licensed electrician if that is the case.

Eleven days after the beginning of post-storm restoration, only 11,200 customers are without power system wide.

Friday, Sept. 17

After overnight work, fewer than 4,000 customers are without power; the lights are back on for nearly all of the 2.8 million FPL customers affected by the widespread hurricane.

While the bulk of restoration is expected to be completed today on schedule, there may be customers facing problems with power that must be serviced on an individual basis; customers still without power are asked to call the company’s 1-800-4OUTAGE number to report their situation.

By midnight of day number 12, FPL essentially completes power restoration to nearly 2.8 million homes and businesses that suffered outages because of Hurricane Frances.

Among materials required: 685 miles of wire, enough to stretch from Miami to Atlanta ; 3,651 poles; 3,793 transformers; 30 truckloads of materials delivered to various locations throughout the state daily.

Saturday, Sept. 18

FPL releases thousands of linemen, tree trimming crews and other support personnel to help other electric utilities restore power to those affected by Hurricane Ivan.