The hurricane's swing east puts people who left their homes seeking safety right back in harm's way.
By RON MATUS
Published August 14, 2004
WINTER HAVEN - Thousands of Tampa Bay area residents fled to higher ground Thursday, only to find themselves unexpectedly in Hurricane Charley's sights.
Charley's turn east into Charlotte Harbor sent powerful winds and torrential rain toward inland counties where so many had sought refuge.
"I said, let's go back," said Gordon Swan, who left a friend's house in Clearwater Beach to stay at a Hampton Inn in Winter Haven with his wife, "but unfortunately it's too late for that."
In a matter of hours Thursday, tens of thousands of evacuees turned Polk County into Pinellas East, streaming into cramped hotel rooms in Lakeland, Bartow, Haines City and Winter Haven. Many hit Interstate 4 as soon as the evacuation orders were issued.
"Only a fool is going to stay in a mobile home in a hurricane," said Will Stewart, who lives with his wife, Mary, in a Pinellas Park mobile home.
The Stewarts booked a room for two nights at the Days Inn in Winter Haven. They were among the lucky ones.
Or so they thought.
Most rooms were booked by 3 p.m. Thursday, but for many evacuees it was just a one-night stay. On Friday morning, the Stewarts watched a neighbor at the Days Inn pack his car and hit the road in search of another hotel room, anywhere.
"He didn't have the slightest idea of where he was going," said Nancy Stewart. "He had that look in his eyes, that fear."
But he may have gotten out just in time.
At 4 p.m. Friday, hotel guests were waiting anxiously as the rain picked up and authorities went on TV to predict dire weather ahead. Many wondered whether they might have to evacuate again.
"We're getting ready to get nailed," a Hampton Inn clerk told a caller. "Charley's changed course."
Ironically, the hurricane's sudden turn put Polk residents in a bind. Many were trying unsuccessfully Friday afternoon to find space in local hotels now maxed out with out-of-town evacuees.
Some just shrugged.
"Where am I going to go?" asked Manatee County resident Jack Wymer, 71.
Wymer, though, saw a silver lining: Back in Manatee, his house was looking safer by the minute.
