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Citrus County wades through another surge

While the storm surge wasn't as bad as expected, it still causes plenty of flooding, street closings and power outages.

By SANCHEZ and BRIAN SUMERS
Published June 14, 2006

Tropical Storm Alberto's surge was not nearly as bad as it could have been, but it did cause plenty of localized flooding, street closings and power outages Tuesday in west Citrus County.

There were no reports of injuries or major property damage.

The storm made landfall about noon in the Big Bend area southeast of Tallahassee.

Citrus emergency management officials had feared a worst-case scenario: a storm surge equal to that of the no-name storm of 1993, when U.S. 19 was under several feet of water.

Alberto lacked such power, but it brought some flooding all the same.

Emergency management officials, preferring to err on the side of caution, enacted mandatory coastal evacuations Monday and opened emergency shelters. About 200 people used them.

By 8 a.m. Tuesday, two of the four shelters were closed. The two at the Lecanto school complex remained open.

Citrus will get back to normal today. All county offices will be open. All school district employees are to return to work today, although student activities are canceled.

Tuesday was anything but normal in west Citrus. There were blustery winds and sometimes heavy rainfall, for sure. But the biggest worries came as floodwaters steadily rose throughout the day in Crystal River, Ozello, Homosassa and the rest of the coastal area.

Kings Bay Drive was closed in Crystal River. So were NW 16th Street, NW Sixth Avenue, Paradise Point Road, Cutler Spur, Citrus Avenue south of NE Third Street, State Park Drive, Museum Point and parts of Fort Island Trail.

Ozello Trail took on water and was closed. Same for Yulee and Fishbowl drives, among many roads.

Water lapped just a few feet from the north side of Crystal River City Hall.

"Unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do," said Kurt Woerner, the city's public works director. "It could be worse and it probably will be."

By Tuesday evening, fewer than 400 Progress Energy customers were without service. The number had been greater overnight Monday and during the day Tuesday.

Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, at the county's request, cut power to Ozello as a safety precaution Tuesday afternoon. Sumter Electric Cooperative reported more than 1,000 customers without service Tuesday afternoon but rapidly reduced that number.

The day started somewhat uneventfully, with most homeowners relieved because Alberto's wind and rain caused little damage.

Forecasts showed the storm would make landfall well north of Citrus County. If anything, the storm was weakening, not growing stronger, as once feared.

Kirby Klys, 52, a professional fisherman, spent a "peaceful" Monday night sleeping aboard his 37-foot boat, Scamp, which was docked at Shrimp Landing.

"I'm an old captain, not a bold captain," he said. "I didn't believe I was behaving foolishly. If I felt unsafe, I wouldn't have done it."

But as the morning progressed, water creeped onto the land, and residents cringed.

At 9 a.m., Wayne Rambo, a 64-year-old retiree who lives in Woodland Estates west of U.S. 19, was walking near his home in water that reached his knees.

"It's kind of weird just watching it come in and there's not a thing you can do about it," he said.

Worried about possible damage, Rambo wondered whether he would continue to live near water. He had not slept at all Monday night.

"We're starting to evaluate," he said, with a sigh.

In downtown Crystal River, Roy Cavanaugh, 49, stood in the parking lot of the Crystal Manatee Suites, the hotel he owns. He hoped the water would not enter any of his rooms, but he was not sure what would happen.

"There's not much to think," he said. "You just have to deal with it."

Meanwhile, postal carrier Daniel Ostolaza coaxed his mail truck through nearly a foot of water in Crystal River. Though the vehicle lacked four-wheel drive, he said he had never gotten it stuck in water before.

His supervisor said all mail had to be delivered by 2 p.m. Tuesday. But many people wondered what Ostolaza was doing out at all.

"Most of the time they're telling me I'm crazy to be out here," said Ostolaza, a mail carrier for eight years.

Even crazier, Diane Lewis, 42, waited patiently under the porch of the Island Outpost in Ozello, where she works. The parking lot was filled with more than a foot of water, but she was content.

"This is our business and this is what takes care of the people on the island," she said, as water reached the door and she nurtured a Miller Lite. "We're going to stay."

The big sellers before the storm: ice and beer.

According to the sign on the door, the Island Outpost is closed Tuesdays. But Lewis tried to help the few passers-by who braved the standing water. And today, regardless of damage, it will reopen, she said.

Despite the mandatory evacuation order for residents living west of U.S. 19, many homeowners did not leave. And some who did declined to go far.

Dennis Taylor, 52, drove his Class A motor home, usually parked at Nature Resort Campground in Homosassa to the Publix along U.S. 19.

After speaking with the grocery store manager, Taylor slept Monday night in the parking lot, rocking along with the wind. And even on the concrete, his generator provided satellite television and air conditioning.

"I was out like a light," he said.

By Tuesday afternoon, 10 motor homes cluttered the corner of the lot. Their owners were waiting patiently. And everyone was safe and dry.

Closer to the Homosassa River, Jeff Grybek was not as lucky. By late afternoon, he said he expected water to enter his home soon, though he promised not to evacuate until the water became ankle deep.

Already about 2 or 3 inches of water had entered two of the furnished rooms he rents. Still, he shrugged his shoulders, saying there wasn't much he could do.

"It's Mother Nature," he said. "She always bats last."

Nearby, two maintenance workers were walking away from the Riverside Resort after attempting to limit flood damage.

One said he saw a kayak inside the marina office.

At 4 p.m., it was already floating.

Times staff writers Elena Lesley and Barbara Behrendt contributed to this report.

[Last modified June 14, 2006, 00:26:05]