Hurricane Charley

OSPREY LAKES

Photos by Donald A. Thomas, Jr.

Click on photos to enlarge.

Earlier, Hurricane Charley was projected to take a path West of Orlando. High Winds were expected, but residents of Osprey Lakes expected no more than a violent storm.

Local weather on Channel Nine shows the new projected path of Hurricane Charley. It shows that the storm would rip straight through Seminole County.

By 3 p.m. the prelude to Hurricane Charley begins to play out. The clouds don an ominous glow.

In the 8 o'clock hour, it becomes clear that this day would be very different for the residents of Osprey Lakes.

The eye of Hurricane Charley would pass within a couple miles West of Osprey Lakes. Adding to the drama was the fact that the storm's rage commenced just as darkness fell. By the 10 o'clock hour, the winds had increased to a menacing howl. Once in a while, residents might hear something hit their home and the beams of flashlights would pierce the rain and the wind in the dark. There was no power. The winds had knocked that out as the rage of the storm began.

When Hurricane Charley finally did pass and the tiresome bawl of the wind subsided, some residents inspected their property by flashlight then went to bed.

In the morning of Saturday, August 14 virtually every resident of Osprey Lakes found that their trees had been knocked over if not pressed to the ground.

Some residents experienced significant damage to their fences. The one at right was less than two weeks old when Hurricane Charley knocked the posts off center and knocked out every panel.

This homeowner experienced damage to the soffit around one corner of their home. Once removed, insulation escaped and much became pasted onto the screened area surrounding the owner's pool.

Some homeowner's had erected playsets for their children, but many of them were toppled or destroyed.

Those who live near conservation saw more than the rest of us on Saturday morning. This tree's entire root system ripped up the soil as it toppled. Scenes such as this are common.

For the most part, homes weathered the high winds, but many homes suffered relatively minor damage such as the trim that was lost near the peak of this home.

This tree was pushed to the ground. Fortunately, the young trees were easy to upright and stake.

Other trees, such as this palm would not be quite as easy to upright.

This homeowner experienced some of the worse damage in the area. This tree toppled out of a conservation area to the East of their home. No one was hurt.

The Engle Homes Model Center sign leans to one side, yet still stands.

The screened in pool area of the D.R. Horton model home will require some minor restoration.

At the community entrance, the trees remain pushed down to the ground.

According to the way the street sign has been twisted Osprey Lakes Circle is now Jacob's Trail and vice versa.

So much for Hurricane resistant cinder block construction on this home. The wall was constructed within days before the storm rolled into the area.

Cinder blocks hang on to steel rods while others collapsed completely.

These windows were blown out of a D.R. Horton home under construction.

There some clean up ahead for the builder on this home. The high winds toppled almost all of the tresses.

All of the newly planted landscape in front of this home was swept to one side by the high winds.

This street light collapsed a few feet above ground. Nearby residents put the fixture into a cooler to reduce a chance of injury.

The fence along this ridge will need to be rebuilt.

The screened pool area on this home appears to have imploded.

A substantial tree fell and changed the landscape of this Engle Home in Osprey Lakes. Thank goodness it fell away from the home.

An Engle home under construction suffers the wrath of the storm when a nearby tree falls and hits the roof.

This pair of trees suddenly became just one lonely tree.

Another view of this Engle Home shows the loss of another beautiful tree.

Trees from an adjacent wooded area fall toward a sidewalk and blocks all pedestrian traffic.

This tree snapped like a wishbone.

This tree was cut back to allow vehicles to get through.

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