20 years later, a look at Hurricane Charley's devastation in Polk and beyond | Photos

Tamara Beckett, holds up an "I survived Hurricane Charley" t-shirt she was selling on the roadside on State Road 33 in Mulberry on Monday, Aug. 16, 2004.

Blain Johnson tacks a "Free Firewood" sign on the roots of a 60-foot uprooted oak tree that landed in his friend's yard on Highway 17 in Wauchula on Aug. 15, 2004. The tree roots reached over 20 feet in the air. Homeowner Frankie Vasquez said "I've got space for advertisement."

Lois Rogers, park manager at Towerwood manufactured home community, marvels at the damage to her home exposing her kitchen dining room area when Hurricane Charley swept through the community in Lake Wales on Aug. 14, 2004. "It's just a house," she said. "Nobody got hurt. We all went to the clubhouse and nobody panicked."

Lois Rogers, park manager at Towerwood manufactured home community, gestures toward where the roof left her home exposing her kitchen dining room area from Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales.

Craig Moore, looks over the remnants of his flea market stand at Sunshine Flea Market that was destroyed by Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales on Aug. 14, 2004. "All our retirement money is tied up here," his wife, Martha, said.

A home destroyed by Hurricane Charley in Arcadia on Aug. 14, 2004.

Ernesto Garcia looks over a hole in his roof left by Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales on Aug. 16, 2004. Garcia was trying to keep his business open even though he had no power.

Betty Hamilton, with her daughter, Erica Oliphant, age 8 months, looks at where the roof was removed by Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales on Aug. 16, 2004. Oliphant was in this room with her daughter when the roof came off.

Jerry Mixon, vice president of Mixon Family Farms, surveys damage to the netting over the company's blueberry field destroyed by Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales on Aug. 16, 2004. The farm sustained over $100,000 in damage to the blueberries, not including crop damage and an untold amount of damage to their citrus holdings.

Raheem Richards, 5, was sitting in this chair when the roof was ripped off of his home by Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales.

Debra Storicks, left, a fifth-grade teacher, and Faye Smith, school principal, in one of six classrooms demolished by Hurricane Charley at Ben Hill Griffin Elementary in Frostproof.

Wayne Souther and Gregg Hoffman stand in a room that was destroyed by Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales. The home belonged to Souther's dad, Jim Singetary, who watched the roof and wall come off from the doorway behind the two men.

David Price, president of Bok Tower Gardens, with an oak tree blown over during Hurricane Charley at Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales. The park lost some 200 trees.

Diane Starling stands around trees destroyed by Hurricane Charley on her property along Lake Buffum southwest of Lake Wales.

As Hurricane Charley approaches the Tampa Bay area, Lou Symmes of Ruskin loads plywood and concrete blocks into his pickup for the trip home from Home Depot in Lakeland on Aug. 12, 2004. He was here on business and decided to beat the crowds at home by buying supplies here.

Barry Acree nails up a sheet of plywood as Marsh Martinus trims a sheet to size as they cover the windows of a RaceTrac gas station in Lakeland as Hurricane Charley approaches in 2004. Acree Maintance Petroleum of Orlando was contracted to secure the window of several Polk stations.

Preparation for Hurricane Charley Frank Jurasek, from left, and Todd and Tom Parker of Parker's Custom Canvas in Winter Haven remove an awning at the Showcase Gallery Shop at 224 E. Pine St. in Lakeland on Aug. 12, 2004, one day ahead of the arrival of Charley.

Bernice and Henry Rushlow bow their heads in prayer before eating their lunch at the special needs shelter set up in the cafeteria at Lake Gibson High School as they wait for Hurricane Charley to arrive in Lakeland on Aug. 13, 2004.

The first feeder bands from Hurricane Charley move in to South Lakeland about 12:45 p.m. on Aug. 13, 2004. Black sky and hard rain looking south on U.S. 98 by the Polk Parkway.

A man on a bike looks over debris from Hurricane Charley at a shopping center on the corner of State Road 60 and Broadway in Bartow on Saturday morning after Charley struck.

Fred Maits and Gary Cavanaugh look down Florida Avenue at the community mail box in the Fort Meade Mobile Home Park the day after Charley struck.

Virginia Freidank looks at her home on New York Avenue in the Fort Meade Mobile Home Park the day after Charley.

Charles Smith climbs over rubble from another mobile home next to his as he makes his way to a neighbor's home in the Fort Meade Mobile Home Park the day after Charley. He rode out the storm in his mobile home; his wife left for a hotel in Lakeland.

Virginia Freidank sits on her couch where her carport once stood at her mobile home on New York Avenue in the Fort Meade Mobile Home Park the day after Charley. She was trying to clean up after the destruction but took a break when it got too hot.

A National Guardsman directs a semi to a staging area at Lakeland Linder airport Aug. 14, 2004. The Federal Emergency Management Agency set up its mobile HQ at the old Piper Manufacturing plant to handle disaster assistance.

A large Hickory tree fell at East Belvedere Street and Lake Hollingsworth Drive in Lakeland during Charley.

Darryl Goolsby, left, and Mark Shears lift a broken traffic signal in Lakeland on Aug. 14, 2004. They worked for Lakeland's traffic operations. The signal fell at Massachusetts Avenue and Memorial Boulevard during Hurricane Charley.

Roots of a large tree that fell along Lake Morton in Lakeland during Hurricane Charley.

Rolinda Moore looks at damage to her son's 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass in front of her home on Interlachen Parkway in Lakeland on Aug. 14, 2004. The oak tree fell during Hurricane Charley.

Al McDonnell, 84, pauses a moment to lean on a crooked mail box. "I'm tired," he said after spending the morning cleaning up roofing materials from absent neighbors' yards at Towerwood manufactured home community in Lake Wales on Saturday, Aug. 14 ,2004.

Bill Guerard's box truck took the brunt of a tree that fell and also damaged the roof of his home on 20th Street Northwest during Hurricane Charley's pass through Winter Haven.

Numerous signs like this one were ripped down on U.S. 27 as Hurricane Charley stormed through Lake Wales.

Congested traffic crawls past power poles as they lean down after Charley's winds ripped through communities along U.S. 27 in Lake Wales.

Twisted and tangled wires and power poles at a softball field are silhouetted against a stormy sky, which brought a second round of rain after Hurricane Charley ripped through Lake Wales, Aug. 14, 2004.

Storm debris litters a drainage ditch at the Towerwood manufactured home community in Lake Wales after Hurricane Charley.

The scene the day after Hurricane Charley looking down Carl Avenue from the intersection of Florida Street in Punta Gorda, where an unknown number of fatalities occurred in a mobile home park.

A resident surveys the damage to her mobile home along Carl Avenue in Punta Gorda a day after Hurricane Charley. An unknown number of fatalities occurred in the mobile home park.

A resident surveys the damage to his mobile home along Carl Avenue in Punta Gorda the day after Hurricane Charley. An unknown number of fatalities occurred in the mobile home park.

Henrietta Ogle, 56, surveys the damage to her mobile home and neighborhood at Florida Street and Carl Avenue in Punta Gorda the day after Hurricane Charley. Ogle and her husband, Dewey, had been living in the home since 1976. They evacuated and were not home when the storm passed through.

Carolyn Kauffman, holds her daughter, Hannah, 20 months-old, as her husband, Jack, backround center, and brother-in-law Josh Kauffman, salvage belongings from their destroyed mobile home on Hickory Avenue in Punta Gorda in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley. "We lost everything," Kauffman said.

Pauline Somers, 89, of Hickory Avenue in Punta Gorda describes how she rode out Hurricane Charley in her mobile home by herself with her two cats and one dog.

Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Deputy First Class David Sonne surveys damage as he tries to identify an address during a search and rescue check in a mobile home park along Hickory Avenue in Punta Gorda in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley.

This storge barn collapsed from Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales, Aug. 14, 2004.

A aircraft hangar at Lake Wales airport was destroyed. Other buildings that were damaged during Hurricane Charley were finished off by Jean and Francis in the coming weeks.

A flatted mobile home in a small mobile home park at East Street and Lincoln Avenue in Lake Wales, August 14, 2004.

Residents of The Grove Center, a nursing and rehabilitation center in Lake Wales, were evacuated the day after Charley.

A large oak tree on its side along Central Avenue in Lake Wales as neighbors survey damage after Charley.

A tree fell on this house on Cambridge Avenue in Lakeland during Charley.

The overhang at the Amoco on Sixth Street Northwest in Winter Haven was blown over during Charley.

Clarence Pietszyk reads about Hurricane Charley in the morning paper on what is left of his front porch in Lake Fox Village in Winter Haven, Aug. 14, 2004.

Ruth Roberts stands in her front porch at Lake Fox Village on Cypress Gardens Road in Winter Haven, Aug. 14, 2004.

A utility pole is broken in pieces along Lake Ruby Drive in Winter Haven on Aug. 14, 2004, as a result of Hurricane Charley.

Damage to the 7-Eleven store on Cypress Gardens Boulevard in Winter Haven on Aug. 14, 2004.

Richard Richards stands in the living room of his mobile home in Lake Wales on Aug. 14, 2004. The roof of his home was torn off Hurricane Charley.

Standing outside his home on New York Avenue, Jim Dickerson talks to his friend Emil Restano explaining what happened as Hurricane Charley pushed an oak tree through his front window and roof into the living room where he was sitting. Dickerson came away with a few scratches and scrapes when the ceiling came down trapping him until his wife helped free him.

Jerry Douglas looks at a collapsed roof that fell into his wife's room at his home of 31 years in Fort Meade during Hurricane Charley. The storm split a neighbor's oak tree, sending it through the roof of the Douglases' home.

Gov. Jeb Bush listens to the needs of Polk County Sheriff Lawrence Crow at Lakeland Linder airport in the aftermath of Charley. Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist is center. Bush visited a distribution center based at the airport set up to ship hurricane relief supplies in Central Florida.

Vehicles line up to purchase gas at the RaceTrac station on Bartow Highway in Bartow on Aug. 15, 2004.

A worker stands near the broken steeple at the First Baptist Church in Lake Wales on Aug. 15, 2004. Workers were trying to prevent further damage until the roof could be replaced.

Shoppers line up to shop at the Walmart in Lake Wales two days after Hurricane Charley ripped through the area, knocking power out. Five shoppers were allowed in at a time, and they were accompanied by an associate.

Robert Howey cuts limbs of an oak tree that fell on his work shop at Parakeet Park south of Lake Wales on Aug. 15, 2004.

Hurricane relief supplies wait to be shipped at Lakeland Linder airport Aug. 15, 2004.

A homemade sign on a plastic lawnnchair in a residential area bids an ominous warning against looting after Hurricane Charley swept through Arcadia.

Dallas Gross Jr. stopped by the Wagon Wheel Saloon to pick up a six-pack of Budweiser after getting out to buy supplies after Hurricane Charley swept through the area in Arcadia. There was no power in the bar and a sign outside advertised "Cool Beer" as the refrigerators were not working.

Caleb Detwiler, 13, left, slices up pieces of watermelon on the back of a pickup truck as Sarah Overholt, right, passes it out to people affected by Hurricane Charley in Arcadia on Aug. 15, 2004. The group of Mennonites from the Sunnyside Mennonite Church in Sarasota set up a makeshift food bank, passing out free hot dogs, hamburgers and water to anyone passing by.

A group of Mennonite women from Sunnyside Mennonite Church sing the hymn "What a friend we have in Jesus" to people who stopped for free food offered by members of the church in Arcadia on Aug. 15, 2004.

Kristian Carter holds up a sign advertising "Cool Beer" outside the Wagon Wheel Saloon owned by his grandfather in Arcadia on Aug. 15, 2004.Power outages caused by Hurricane Charley made the beer a little warmer.

Laura Detwiler,18, holds a sign advertising free food as people affected by Hurricane Charley line up in Arcadia on Aug. 15, 2004. A group of Mennonites from the Sunnyside Mennonite Church in Sarasota set up a makeshift food bank.

The cross on top of a church bell tower teeters to one side after Hurricane Charley swept through the area in Arcadia.

Richard Struck tries to salvage belongings for an out-of-town neighbor the day after the neighbor's home was destroyed by Hurricane Charley in the Lake Wales Mobile Home Park at Lincoln Avenue and Alternate 27.

Tables and chairs are all that's left of the Paradise Family Restaurant on U.S. 17 in Arcadia after Hurricane Charley.

Eric Joseph tacks down a piece of plastic tarp over a missing section of roof at his mother's home on Alcala Court in Poinciana, which was damaged by Hurricane Charley.

Residents along Country Club Road in Poinciana try to remove damaged roof materials and temporarily cover with plastic tarps the damaged done by Hurricane Charley in Poinciana.

Downed power lines lie on the ground and in trees for about a half mile along Cypress Parkway in Poinciana after Hurricane Charley.

Roofing material crumpled on a roof of a building at Poinciana High School caused by Hurricane Charley.

A bench covered by tree branches is seen at left at the Cypress Gardens Adventure Park as public relations manager Alyson Gernert walks along a debris-lined path in the botanical gardens section of the attraction after Hurricane Charley.

At Cypress Gardens Adventure Park, public relations manager Alyson Gernert looks over some of the debris at the gazebo in the botanical gardens after Charley.

On the second floor of the old Pines Hotel building in Haines City, Jay Bradley looks over the windows and casings that were blown onto the floor during Hurricane Charley.

A large oak tree fell onto the McDonald's restaurant on Hinson Avenue in Haines City during Charley.

As power line crews in work to restore poles, a reinforced concrete power pole can be seen snapped at its base from Hurricane Charley on 2nd Street in Lake Hamilton. Four other wooden power poles can be seen lying across the street were they fell.

The steeple in the foreground was reported to have landed rightside up on church property after being blown off the roof of the Lake Hamilton Presbyterian Church seen in the background, during Hurricane Charley's visit to east Polk County on Friday. Photo taken in Lake Hamilton, Florida, August 16, 2004. The Ledger/Paul Johnson

At Twin Fountains, a mobile home park off State Road 17 near Waverly, park residents Ransom Strahl, left, and Bill Meyers look over some of Hurricane Charley's damage. The park had no electricity, but did have running water.

A large tree lies on the ground along Collins Lane in Lakeland three days after Hurricane Charley left its mark. The tree had blocked the road and was cut in half and left for later pickup.

The cone-shaped roof of Bartow's water tower was removed during Hurricane Charley.

The roof of the Bartow water tower rests atop the pumping station a half block away behind the main fire station after Hurricane Charley.

Two of five baseball dugouts destroyed by Hurricane Charley at the city baseball facility in Fort Meade.

Polk County School Board employee Doug Castile, picks up a speaker from the wreckage of the Frank S. Battle Field press box blown over by Hurricane Charley at Fort Meade Middle-Senior High School.

A pickup truck with Polk County school board employees drives past a bank of stadium Lights uprooted by Hurricane Charley at Frank S. Battle Field in Fort Meade after Hurricane Charley. The baseball fields also suffered damage.

The Frank S. Battle Field sign, damaged and uprooted by Hurricane Charley, leans on the ticket office at Fort Meade High School.

Lineman Michael Goddard with a crew from L.E. Myers Electrical Construction ofRural Hall, North Carolina, lifts transmission power lines to allow homeowners along Brooke Road east of Fort Meade access to their property because of Hurricane Charley.

Doug Corley of the Salvation Army of Columbus, Georgia, distributes sandwiches, chips and cold drinks from the back of a truck to victims of Hurricane Charley in Fort Meade.

From left, Rebecca Walton, 17, her brother, James,15, and mother Debi Walton bag canned goods to be distributed by relief agencies for Hurricane Charley victims at the VISTE warehouse in Lakeland.

A truckload of scrap from Hurricane Charley is taken to Allied Scrap on Main Street in East Lakeland.

Danny Hanna of Brady's Tree Service in Lakeland removes tree debris from the home of Fort Meade Mayor Bob Elliott on Willow Oak Court in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley.

Daniel Rawlins, left, and his stepson Matthew Thomas, 11, remove damaged roofing material from his business along U.S. 17 in Fort Meade in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley. Rawlins was the owner of Rawlins Automatic Transmission and he had just purchased the building with plans to move from a previous location before the hurricane struck.

From left, Chris Hayes, Wes Moreland and Ron Gore along with fellow workers from Arrmaz Custom Chemicals in Winter Haven, volunteered to help clean up in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley at Parakeet Park near Lake Wales. The units in the park were owned by senior citizens who couldn't do much of the cleanup without help.

Sign uprooted by Hurricane Charley next to State Road 60 in Lake Wales.

At the Sunrise Park Apartments in Lake Wales, Genetha Zellner shows the roof missing in her children's second floor bedroom after Hurricane Charley.

At the Sunrise Park Apartments in Lake Wales, a wooden section of the surrounding apartment units smashed into this parked car during Hurricane Charley.

At the Sunrise Park Apartments in Lake Wales, debris from the surrounding apartment units is seen in the foreground after Hurricane Charley.

Red Cross volunteers Amanda Maddox Webster, left, and her mom, Janey Maddox, load food onto a Red Cross emergency response vehicle in Lake Wales in the days after Hurricane Charley. Both were teachers who wanted to volunteer since public schools were closed.

Red Cross volunteers Jose Delgado, left, Steven Roberts and Greg Roberts unload water at the Red Cross office in Winter Haven a few days after Charley.

D. Scott Young, manager for Peace Valley, walks through a small block of the company's Sunburst tangerines destroyed by Hurricane Charley in Alturas. Seventy-five percent of the citrus trees in this block were destroyed.

Letty Appelboom of Winter Haven, right, buys 14 "I Survived Hurricane Charley" T-Shirts at U.S. 17/98 and Georgia Street in Bartow a few days after Charley. Appelboom was buying the T-shirts for her family and for her neighbors that helped clean up debris from her yard after Charley. The T-shirts were selling for $15 a shirt. On the day the stand opened, $1,100 worth of T-shirts were sold in five and a half hours.

Debris from Hurricane Charley is seen on the property of the Christ Episcopal Church in Fort Meade. The historic church that was founded in 1886 survived the hurricane.

At Homeland Heritage Park, the sign with missing letters usually reads "Welcome to Homeland Heritage Park," but letters were blown away like many of the trees by Hurricane Charley.

This outdoor billboard north of Homeland off U.S. 17/98, used to read "AVAILABLE" and displayed a phone number - before Charley.

The roof from Rudy Ilczhyn's home sits on a tree in his yard after Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales Estates.

From left, volunteers Marie Burnette, Kaleb Childs, 12, and his mother, Tammy, serve chicken dinners at Big Oaks Pontiac in Bartow on Aug. 19, 2004.

Pee Wee Hollis carries a TV from a demolished unit in the Lake Clinch Manor in Frostproof on Aug. 19, 2004. Hollis was helping his sister clean up the park that was hit by Hurricane Charley.

What remains of the Lake Wales Arts Center sign is seen at bottom. The sign was destroyed by Hurricane Charley. The Lake Wales Arts Center is seen in the background.

Saddlebag Lake Resort Board President Mary Jane Gieche stands next to a giant pile of scap metal collected from damaged homes throughout the park in Lake Wales days after Hurricane Charley.

Janet Ferstle, left, and Jim Wierenga look through family photos at Wierenga's home at Saddlebag Lake Resort in Lake Wales days after Hurricane Charley.

Saddlebag Lake Resort resident Jim Wierenga stands in his damaged home in Lake Wales on Aug. 19, 2004. The roof of his home was ripped off by hurricane Charley's high winds.

Jim Dickerson scratches his chin as he recalls all he has gone through in the week after Hurricane Charley hit. He had an oak tree fall on his home in Lakeland.

An oak tree split the wall open next to the couch in Jim Dickerson's home on New York Avenue in Lakeland during Charley. Dickerson was pinned under ceiling timbers and plaster.

The sign at at Churchwell Elementary in Lakeland on Aug. 20, 2004. School was closed in Polk County for one week after Hurricane Charley.

Eleven-year-old Alexis Meeks hands out lunch at the food, water and ice distribution center at the First Baptist Church in Lake Alfred Aug. 20, 2004. The Salvation Army teamed up with volunteers for hurricane relief.

Damaged rooftops draped with blue plastic tarps are visible in a neighborhood looking down from a highway overpass in Kissimmee on Aug. 19, 2004. The city received a lot of Hurricane Charley related damage.

Under the shade of a flag-covered umbrella, Iris Deleon leaves the Davenport United Methodist Church with a bag full of supplies being handed out to Hurricane Charley victims in Davenport on Aug. 19, 2004.

The sign at Drifters bar and lounge in Daytona Beach may be damaged and broken, but the business was still open on Aug. 19, 2004, after sustaining damage from Hurricane Charley.

Windows in the atrium lobby area of the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Semoran Boulevard near Orlando International Airport were smashed from flying debris as Hurricane Charley swept through.

The big hot dog sign from Danny's Pizza City on A1A in Daytona Beach crashed to the ground during Hurricane Charley.

Jason Roberson unpacks liquor bottles from water-damaged boxes at Roscoe's South Drive-In Liquor bar in Kissimmee days after Charley.

A stately oak trees crushes a park bench and uproots part of the concrete boulevard in front of a home on Interlachen Avenue in Winter Park after Hurricane Charley swept through the posh neighborhood.

Metal roofing hangs over the edge of a classroom building surrounded by insulation damaged during Hurricane Charley at Bowling Green Elementary in Bowling Green on Au.t 18, 2004.

Charley's Path-A globe visible through a classroom window covered with pieces of insulation from a hurricane-damaged building at Bowling Green Elementary in Bowling Green on Aug. 18, 2004.

Carl Driver carries his camera as he takes snapshots of the Slip Not trailer park where he lived in Punta Gorda on Aug. 18, 2004. Driver had just returned to his home in New Jersey when Hurricane Charley hit.

Gregg Marrapodi, left, owner of Gregg's Automotive Repair Center, picks up a tire to repair at his business on U.S.41 in Punta Gorda on Aug. 18, 2004.The business was up and running even after damage from the hurricane.

Rebecca Melley takes pictures of the damage to her home on Dolly Street as downed power lines hang over her head in Punta Gorda on Aug. 18, 2004.

The owner of a hurricane-damaged home along U.S. 17 posted a thank you sign in Arcadia on Aug. 18, 2004.

A pile of roofing material and insulation are reflected in a water puddle near Roscoe's South Drive-In Liquor in Kissimmee, damaged during Hurricane Charley.

Darrol Hood, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Frostproof, looks through the remains of the church steeple that Hurricane Charley knocked off. The church was the center of emergency supplies and Red Cross operations in Frostproof and also temporarily housed the students and faculty of Ben Hill Griffin Elementary.

Tilton Jacobs, Jr. looks over the ruins of one of the four manufactured housing units completely demolished by Hurricane Charley near Lake Buffum west of Frostproof. Jacobs owned the four units.

Tilton Jacobs Jr. walks among the ruins of four manufactured housing units he owned that were demolished by Hurricane Charley near Lake Buffum west of Frostproof on Aug. 20, 2004.

At Historic Bok Sanctuary in Lake Wales, Cindy Turner, director of marketing, looks over the reflection pool filled with large fallen trees and debris from Hurricane Charley. Bok Tower is seen at the other end of the reflection pool in the background. In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, rumors ran rampant that Charley had destroyed Bok Tower.

At Historic Bok Sanctuary in Lake Wales after Hurricane Charley. From the sidewalk of the visitors center, Cindy Turner, director of marketing, said that this view of Bok Tower was once completely obscured by the foliage of the large oak trees seen in the foreground. After Charley, the tower is seen through the bare branches.

At the base of Bok Tower, the brass door that was covered by plastic just before the hurricane is seen through a maze of large tree limbs that fell across the reflection pool.

At the Orange Dome in Winter Haven, which was used as a staging area for utility workers and equipment during the first phase of the Hurricane Charley recovery. A preschool made a makeshift thank you sign as power returned to many homes and businesses in Winter Haven. Wooden power poles are seen temporarily stored in the background.

Michael Coffee with Winter Haven Public Services gets ready to pull his truck away from the large debris pile after dumping another load of tree branches collected during the Hurricane Charley cleanup in Winter Haven.

Ernest and Ginger Smith stand next to a large tree that fell in the front yard of their Bartow home during Hurricane Charley.

Richard Badger jumps across a pile of aluminum as he arranges the crumpled metal at a recycling center along Highway 17 in Arcadia on Aug 18, 2004.

Two National Guardsmen watch over a CITGO gas station whose overhang was blown over by Hurricane Charley just outside Wauchula on Aug. 18, 2004.

Bob Wadley, right, a ranch manager from Brooksville, and Joe Haney, left, from Dade City pull post hole diggers and fence repair equipment from a pickup truck as they prepare to repair cattle fences damaged by Hurricane Charley and by electric company repair crews in Nocatee on Aug. 18, 2004. The cowboys responded to help local ranchers keep cattle from roaming free.

Letters in a mailbox are safe even though the mobile home was destroyed by Hurricane Charley in Cleveland, Florida, Aug. 18, 2004.

Jessie Lowe, right, collects some of his belongings from the tent he was living in after his home was destroyed by Hurricane Charley in Cleveland, Florida, Aug. 18, 2004.The family was moving to a safer place to live. Their whole neighborhood was destroyed.

A clock, still bearing the approximate time Hurricane Charley ripped through, lies amid the debris in a Dunkin Donuts shop destroyed U.S. 41 in Punta Gorda on Aug. 18, 2004.

Roger Owens folds a flag he had laid out to dry on the remnants of his mother's home in the Slip Not mobile home park in Punta Gorda on Aug. 18, 2004. The flag was presented to his mother after his father , a World War II vet, died in 2003. He found the flag soaking wet underneath the rubble and draped it over some rubble to dry out.

Parts of a tree that had fallen on this house at 825 E. Church St. in Bartow during hurricane Charley sit along the road for pickup.

Cammie and Allie Langston stand in front of a tree at their home in Bartow on Aug. 21, 2004. They were leaving their home during Hurricane Charley when the tree fell around their car.

Fort Meade Mayor Bob Elliott stands in what is left of his daughter's bedroom on Aug. 21, 2004, after Hurricane Charley went through Fort Meade.

The damage wrought by Hurricane Charley upon Fort Meade Mayor Bob Elliott's home, Aug. 21, 2004.

Ronnie Bridges cooks chicken on Broadway Street in Fort Meade for Hurricane Charley victims Aug. 21, 2004. Eight-hundred pounds of chicken was cooked by volunteers from Bridges' family and others.

A large pile of tree trimmings line Pine Avenue in Fort Meade in the week after Hurricane Charley.

Tree debris from Hurricane Charley is piled high on 4th Street -- and other streets -- in Lake Wales, Fla. on Aug. 21, 2004.

More of Bok Tower in Lake Wales can bee seen from a distance after Charley knocked over about 200 trees in the gardens surrounding the tower in Lake Wales.

Harold Forrest, left, Roger Hess and John Orskey work on Orskey's home at the Goodlife RV Resort in Bartow 10 days after Charley. Orskey was in Michigan when the storm hit and returned to look over the damage to his home. Orskey and his friends were taking down the only wall left on his sun porch and also making part of his home weather tight.

David Ingram loads a trailer full of damaged furniture from Hurricane Charley at his home on Aug. 23, 2004, in the Goodlife RV Resort in Bartow. The storm blew off the roof to the Florida room.

The porch and carport of this home were destroyed by Hurricane Charley at the Goodlife RV Resort in Bartow.

During Hurricane Charley, this large oak tree fell on a public concrete picnic table, smashing it into pieces on the west side of Lake Wailes in the city of Lake Wales.

At the Lake Hamilton Presbyterian Church, longtime church member Florence Brown looks over the church steeple that was blown off during Hurricane Charley. The steeple was on the left top of the church seen above Brown. The steeple landed upright on the church property as seen, with the exception of the cross seen to the right of Brown. The cross was placed next to the steeple after the hurricane passed.

This home on North 6th Street in Lake Hamilton lost its roof during Hurricane Charley. The carport is seen in the foreground. The roof landed across the street in Lake Sara.

Fred Else, co-owner of the Else Group on Stuart Avenue in downtown Lake Wales, stands in front of his business looking over a tree that was blown over during Hurricane Charley.

Traffic goes by on Avenue D Northwest at 1st Street next to the Gessler Clinic's Orthopedic Division's sign that was blown over by Hurricane Charley.

From left, Terry Summers cuts up an oak tree with help from childhood friends Rodney E. Johnson and Jerry Spivey at his home in the Lake Henry area near Fort Meade on Aug. 25, 2004. Hurricane Charley knocked out Summers' power until that day, 12 days after Charley.

Lights at Warner University in Lake Wales, which the college got from Baseball City and hadn't been installed yet, were damaged by the winds of Hurricane Charley.

Cleanup crews were using vacant land just west of the Peace River to pile debris produced by Hurricane Charley.

At Sunrise Park Apartments in Lake Wales, heavy Hurricane Charley damage caused all of the residents to relocate.

At Sunrise Park Apartments in Lake Wales, Hurricane Charley damage caused all of the residents to relocate. Patrick Fields, 17, closes the back of a rental van containing most his family's belongings.

On the boardwalk at IMC AGRICO Peace River Park, east of Homeland off State Road 640. The railing at right was crushed by a falling tree during Hurricane Charley. Several areas of railing on the boardwalk were damaged. Aug. 27, 2004.

Two piles of oak tree limbs in front of Paul Fabrikant's home southeast of Winter Haven. A tree removal service cut the large oak tree down three days after Charley. The tree removal service charged Fabrikant $23,000. A damaged television set is seen at bottom left of the large tree trunk.

Dundee may0r Kevin Kitto stands outside his workshop that lost its roof at his home in Dundee on Aug. 28, 2004.

Edna Wickman, 85, breaks down on her husband's shoulder as they look at what they have lost and the work ahead of them at their mobile home that was ripped apart by Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales on Aug. 28, 2004. Homer Wickman, 84, said when his wife of 63 years cries as she has, he wished there was something he could do.

Homer Wickman, 84, who has diabetes, can't stand too long and takes a break from trying to salvage some clothes for the next few days in the Lake Wales home he shared with his wife, Edna. The home was ripped apart by Hurricane Charley. "I feel a little more relaxed each day something gets done,' he said, as they navigate the disaster relief protocol.

Edna Wickman, 85, tries to see what might be salvageable in her china cabinet that was blown over by Hurricane Charley in Lake Wales. She and her husband, Homer, were living as best they can, day to day in a hotel, as they waited for assistance in getting their lives back to normal.

A flooded yard at a home on Rhoden Road southwest of Lake Wales on Sept 8, 2004. Hurricane Charley passed through the area Aug. 13. Hurricane Frances made its way through the area Sept. 5.

A section of the tank is lowered by a demolition crew Port Hope, Michigan, as they cut down the water tower in downtown Bartow on Sept. 9, 2004. The water tower was damaged by Hurricane Charley.

A home damaged from Hurricane Charley is still boarded up and has a tarp protecting its roof along the shore of Lake Wailes in Lake Wales on Sept. 23, 2004.

Dundee Mayor Kevin Kitto looks over some of the billboards that were damaged by Hurricanes Charley and Frances in his front yard in Dundee on Sept. 24, 2004. Kitto was struggling to get his business, Koala Outdoor, back on its feet. He said he lost 20 billboards and has only been allowed to replace six or seven on a smaller scale than before.

President George W. Bush talks about the damage caused by Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne in a grove owned by Marty and Pat McKenna in Lake Wales on Sept. 29, 2004. From left is Congressman Adam Putnam, Pat McKenna, President Bush, Marty McKenna and Gov. Jeb Bush.

President George W. Bush waves as he and Gov. Jeb Bush and Brig. Gen. Tanker Snyder walk from Marine One to Air Force One at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa on Sept. 29, 2004. They toured citrus groves damaged by Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne in Lake Wales.

Debris is loaded into a tub grinder at the Glendale Wastewater Treatment Facility in Lakeland on Oct. 8, 2004. The debris is ground down to a consistent form or mulch and taken to the "Wheelabrator" at the Polk County Landfill, where it is burned to make power, city of Lakeland Public Information Officer, Kevin Cook said. He also said the grinder turns eight truck loads of debris into one truck load of mulch. The debris is from Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne.

Jerry Douglas, whose house was destroyed by a tree during Hurricane Charley, looks over remains of his home in Fort Meade on Oct. 13, 2004.

Jerry Douglas, whose house was destroyed by a tree during Hurricane Charley, looks over remains of bedroom in his home in Fort Meade on Oct. 13, 2004.

In her home on Dietz Road, northeast of Bartow, Kathy Long looks up at the hurricane damaged ceiling in her sewing room with the rafters and attic now exposed. Long's home was damaged mainly during hurricanes Charley and Jeanne.

Billy Crosby, 66, at his home in the Fort Meade municipal mobile home park in Fort Meade on Nov. 8, 2004. Crosby lost the RV he was living in during Hurricane Charley and lost virtually everything. He received money from FEMA to buy the home the new mobile home.

One of two kittens climbs a cage in the reception area at All Creatures Animal Clinic in Lakeland on Nov. 10, 2004. Several kittens were found after Hurricane Charley.

At the Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Meade, hurricane debris, mainly form Hurricane Charley, still covered some of the grave sites on Nov. 15, 2004. Seen here is part of the older section of the cemetery where some grave stones were knocked over by falling trees.

Fruit knocked off trees sits in floodwater in an orange grove off Alturas Loop Road near Alturas on Sept. 9, 2004. The rain was from Hurricane Frances and the fruit were knocked off the tree by Hurricane Charley.

Veterinarian Jerry Rayburn plays with his three-legged cat Tipsy he rescued after the cat came in with a crushed back leg after Hurricane Charley at his home in Winter Haven.