Smaller branches and tree limbs scattered across Inverness neighborhood streets, but two people were still seen walking the Withlacoochee State Trail. "Yes, we're open," she said on one call, and then hung up.īy 9:30 a.m., with the worst parts of the storm still ahead, officials announced that people going into shelters would not be allowed to leave. Waitress Heather Reynolds balanced plates of hot food behind the counter while answering the phone.
A silver clock above the griddle stated: "Any Meal, Any Time." The restaurant's speakers played the Surfaris' classic hit Wipe Out. The place was packed with people betting that breakfast could be their last hot meal for a while. 41 S, golden brown hashbrowns, bacon and sausage patties sizzled on the griddle, while waitresses served up side dishes of toast or grits topped by squares of butter. "This being a long storm, we felt like that might be a problem," said John Colasanti, the school system's health and safety specialist.Īt 8:22 a.m., many Inverness restaurants were open, though rain was beginning to soak the region.Īt the Huddle House near State Road 44 and U.S. About 30 minutes later, they decided to close the Citrus High shelter because it has no generator. Downtown Inverness had several power surges during the early morning hours.Įmergency officials decided to open a fifth shelter, Lecanto Middle School, sometime before 7 a.m. Parts of Crystal River lost power briefly after 6 a.m. Hanging moss on oak trees seemed to be the storm's only victim at that point. The wind came and went through Sunday's early morning hours. In downtown Inverness, the first howling wind came through just after 2 a.m. Sunday in Martin County, but rain bands ahead of the eye already had been hitting the North Suncoast for hours. By 9 p.m., officials had opened a fourth shelter, Citrus High School, and the number of shelter-seekers surged to 653.Īt Coach's Pub & Eatery in downtown Inverness, waitresses joked that they were serving customers their last meals.īy 11 p.m., 716 people had registered in the shelters. Three shelters opened _ Forest Ridge Elementary School in Beverly Hills, Inverness Middle School and Lecanto Primary School _ and within an hour 88 people had registered there.īy 7 p.m., with the weather still relatively calm and Frances still barely moving west, the number of people at the shelters grew to 445. But at noon, county emergency officials changed that order from voluntary to mandatory. The hurricane meandered west toward Palm Beach County as rain bands slammed Florida's east coast.īut if Frances wasn't moving very quickly Saturday, the people in Citrus certainly were.Ī voluntary evacuation order for all mobile home residents and people living in low-lying areas was scheduled to take effect at 2 p.m. The Labor Day weekend got off to a slow start. "I think it's going to be a long night," Wesch said. Saturday night, a burglar hit five stores in Crystal River, trying to take advantage of a community holed up in fear of the storm. today, mainly to keep residents off the roads without working stoplights, but also to prevent looting. County officials imposed a curfew from 9 p.m. County Administrator Richard Wesch and County Commission Chairman Josh Wooten left the Lecanto Government Building on Sunday, preparing to check on the county's shelters, which housed 1,012 evacuees.Īs Frances made its way toward the west coast of Florida, the hurricane threatened to spawn tornadoes, flood low-lying areas and rip apart mobile homes. today by the Sheriff's Office so that the Department of Public Works can determine where to start the cleanup.īut there was no time to ponder that Sunday afternoon.
At the center, a tree snapped and crashed through the windshield of a car belonging to Marybeth Nayfield, administrator of the county Health Department.Ī damage assessment flyover is planned for 9 a.m. Sunday afternoon, with hours of wind and rain ahead, the Emergency Operations Center in Lecanto lost Internet access and began relying on television reports for news. In early reports to the county, 10 businesses reported structural damage, with nine homes reporting damage from falling trees, as of late Sunday afternoon.
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