Businesses struggle to open amid lines, testing patience

Orlando-area businesses cleared away debris and came back to life Saturday as residents ventured out for food, gasoline and supplies in the wake of Hurricane Charley.

Shopping malls, supermarkets and gasoline stations reopened, except in hard-hit areas that were still without electricity.

But long lines, combined with closed gas stations and restaurants, tested customers’ patience.

“If you don’t need to be on the road, help us out” by staying home, said Orange County Sheriff Kevin Beary at a news conference.

The economic impact of the storm was lessened because many businesses already were closed for the weekend.

Bill Donegan, Orange County property appraiser, said 42 teams were sent out to begin making preliminary assessments of damage, particularly to homes and businesses in a hard-hit area of Orlando between Kirkman Road on the west and Alafaya Trail on the east.

Many gasoline stations were closed or slow to open Saturday because of property damage, no power or the inability of employees to get to work.

Spot gas shortages are likely because of closed stations and the usual run on supplies that happens immediately before and after a storm, Patty Delaney, an ExxonMobil spokeswoman, said.

“We’re trying to refuel them as quickly as we can,” she said, referring to her company’s stations. ExxonMobil has about 700 outlets in Florida, about 10 percent in the Orlando area. Most suffered only minor damage such as to signs and landscaping, she said.

Bank automated-teller machines were doing a brisk business Saturday.

“Our ATMs were fully loaded before the storm,” said Susie Findell, spokeswoman for SunTrust Bank in Central Florida. Findell said Saturday that preliminary estimates are that the bank’s retail branches suffered no property damage other than lost trees, although some were still without power.

Experience from past storms shows that the losses from property damage are offset to some extent by spending on repairs and rebuilding.

Claims checks often are handed out within days or weeks of an inspection by a claims adjuster. And homeowners who have minor property damage spend heavily at home-improvement stores and other outlets, replacing damaged screens, landscape plants and other items.

State officials think Florida’s $1.6 billion nursery and ornamental-plant industry was heavily damaged by Charley because of damage to greenhouses.

Florida’s citrus industry also took a hit.

Anecdotal reports indicate damage could be extensive in some areas, including uprooted trees, said Liz Compton, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Agriculture. “One problem though is communication is down,” she added.

John Jackson, citrus extension agent for Lake and Orange counties, said the narrow track of the storm helped limit damage. “But it went through a lot of citrus, in Hardee, DeSoto and Polk [counties].”

The industry will see higher crop and juice prices as a result of the storm. The orange-juice-futures market rose last week in anticipation of Charley; higher prices will be passed on to consumers and ripple through the industry as higher revenue.

Orlando hotels benefited from the storm with thousands of extra visitors who fled coastal counties. While many of the visitors returned home Saturday, some were still stranded or chose to stay another day or two.

“Some of our folks had to make some drastic travel changes,” said Mick Fleming, president of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives trade association, which was ending its conference Saturday at the Hilton in Lake Buena Vista.

The storm meant packed hotel rooms Friday night, further benefiting hoteliers who already have had a good summer. Occupancy figures won’t be available for up to two weeks, but by midafternoon Friday all but about 2,000 of the Orlando area’s 116,000 hotel rooms were booked.

But for many hotels, the economic benefits quickly evaporated. On Saturday afternoon, Tari Shannon, assistant general manager at Wellesley Inn, watched as at least 50 people left the Kissimmee hotel, which was still without power and water.

While the hotel will take a financial hit, it won’t be as devastating as the losses after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, she said, with business likely getting back to normal in a week or so.

Jerry W. Jackson can be reached at jwjackson@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5721. Todd Pack and Beth Kassab of the Sentinel staff contributed. Information from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Tribune Publishing newspaper, also was used.