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During the Hurricane Season of 2004, the State of Florida was hit with four major hurricanes. Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne accounted for millions of dollars in damage and sent firefighters racing across the state to help their brothers in need.

In Jacksonville, there were major power outages lasting days, flooding, and several fires. Although the run load increased almost 5 times its normal amount, The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department never stopped delivery of services to the public.

Hurricane Charley

On August 10th, 2004, Charley developed as a Tropical Depression while crossing over the Windward Islands. By the 12th, Charley had reached the western end of Cuba as a Category Three Hurricane. Wind speeds in Havana Cuba were over 120mph. On August 13th, Hurricane Charley smacked into the Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte region of Florida as a Category 4 Hurricane. After making landfall, it quickly moved NNE through the state and exited Florida into the Atlantic around Daytona Beach, causing millions of Floridians to be without power.

Hurricane Frances

The storm that would be Hurricane Frances came off the West-African Coastline on August 21st, 2004. Within five days, it evolved into Frances and made its way towards Florida. Frances became a Category 4 hurricane on August 31st, with its strongest winds reaching 150mph on September 1st, 2004 while traveling across Puerto Rico. Hurricane Frances slowed down over the next few days and hit Jupiter Florida as a Category 2 Hurricane. It crossed over Tampa and turned north in the Gulf of Mexico, making landfall in Florida yet again on the pan handle, just east of Tallahassee.

Hurricane Ivan

lvan was the most destructive of the hurricanes to hit Florida. On the same day Frances was barrelling through Florida, Ivan slipped off the west coast of Africa and fluctuated between a category 2 and category 4 hurricane. On September 7th, Ivan crossed over the Island of Granada and took aim on Florida.For over a week, Ivan roared through the Caribbean as a Category 5 and went north into the Gulf of Mexico. On September 15th, Ivan made landfall in the Pensacola/Alabama area with steady 125mph winds.

Hurricane Jeanne

On September 14th, Tropical Storm Jeanne formed and slowly made its way west towards Florida. On the 16th, it had not moved much but intensified to a category 3 hurricane. After idling around the Bahamas for a few days, Jeanne made landfall in the Ft. Pierce/Stuart region of Florida on September 25th with sustained winds of 115mph.