Hurricane Charley

Hurricane Charley - Friday the 13th August, 2004
Hurricane Charley visited Central Florida on Friday the 13th. The storm wasn't supposed to be as strong as it was by the time it got to the Orlando area - not to mention that it made a last minute turn towards the area. We rode out the storm here at the Ranch since there wasn't time to do much else. Charley caused significant damage from where it made landfall in Punta Gorda, through Central Florida, to where it exited the state near Daytona Beach. We were very fortunate at the Ranch because our damage was minimal compared to the devastation some people experienced. Below are some picture of the damage and effects at the Ranch. The horses and cows came through the storm just fine. There was no damage to any of the buildings at the Ranch. Even the new barn withstood the onslaught! As it turns out we were without power for only four days - amazing considering the damage to the Orlando area in general.
	Bessie, the Lake Douglas Ranch Quality Assurance Cow

Hurricane Charley impacts the Ranch Click on a thumbnail pic to enlarge

A view of Hurricane Charley after making landfall. Orlando and the Ranch are in his sites.

Debris on the deck	Branches down in the back yard

Branches down in the back yard	A large tree in the grove is split in half - more pics are down the page

Near the corral and cattle chute	Citrus tree damage

Citrus tree damage	Citrus tree damage

Citrus tree damage	Citrus tree damage

The cows relaxing after the storm	The cows enjoying a break after the storm

Some trees down on the fence at the back of the property	There's a gate in there somewhere

The tree that split in half during the storm	A close up of the split tree

Wind damage in the wetlands - a number of trees are snapped or blown over some	A pine tree that snapped

These trees were upright before the hurricane	A huge pine is toppled over - the bottom of the roots are exposed

The pine tree roots - not very deep	Another shot of the pine roots

The pine tree roots - this "sheet" of ground is over 6 feet high	The trees down at the back of the property

Another view	The top of some of the trees

There's the gate that got crushed - it's in there somewhere	Another view of the wetlands and the tree damage in there

A tree that snapped	The pond - full, but not completely overflowing

The pond's high water stick	The tree line up near the front of the property

The flag pole and windmill after taking a beating	Damage up at the front treeline

Another tree down	Some of the roots that snapped

A closer view	Some damage near the wetlands up front

The big oak that toppled	The roots of the big ol' tree

A close up of the roots	Another tree goes down on the fence up front

Some branches off the other big oaks	Some branches off the other big oaks

Another shot of the big oak	The top of the oak - normally they point up

More tree damage	Beauty takes in some of the activity

Two pine trees go down	Some more large limbs from a tree line up front

A neighbor's house - with the cows enjoying the shelter	Another shot of the cows "in da house"

Is this what they mean when they say "till the cows come home?"	Another shot of the cows visiting

Stormy looking things over in the grove	Stormy and Thunder in the grove

Stormy and Thunder in the grove - Stormy is looking for a hand out

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Our Mailing Address:

Lake Douglas Ranch
PO Box 1133
Christmas, FL 32709