Pensacola News Journal from Pensacola, Florida • 1

PENSAGOLA TYT II fn 1 If you took some memorable storm pictures, send us a copy and we'll run the best from our readers. Put your name, address and phone number on the back of the picture. Send it to Storm Pictures, P.O. Box 12710, Pensacola, FL 32574. Who to contact for help2A Consumers line up for goods3A Detailed map of damaged areas4A Heroes of the hurricane7A Coping without home comforts8A fw.

1995 Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, Inc. Saturday, August 5, 1995 A Gannett Newspaper mm o) Lru $230 million estimated in damages from Erin Chiles appeals for federal disaster loans, grants mv a- siW- j'e- fs' VS 4,. I i -5S Electricity By late Friday, 109,245 Gulf Power Co. customers were without electricity, down from 215,000 Thursday night. Water Most water pressure has been restored although some residents mayexperience reduced water pressure because of lost electrical power at the wells.

Santa Rosa residents should continue to treat water for cooking or personal hygiene. Garbage ECUA Thursday collection service is rescheduled to today, Friday's collection will be Sunday. Regular collection resumes Monday. Commercial sanitation collection has resumed, but some areas remain inaccessible to trucks. Storm-related debris will be accepted at no cost at the Perdido Landfill.

Four drop-off sites will be open from 6 a.m. today until 6 a.m. Monday. No charge. Bronson Field, off Bower Field Road, south of U.S.

98. Saufley Field, at the end of Saufley Field Road. Oak Grove transfer facility, off State Highway 99. Ballpark Recreation Center, Nine Mile Road. Telephone Southern Bell is installing more than 100 portable generators.

On Friday, 4,200 1 customers had no service. Since the hurricane, the calling volume in this area has increased, resulting in busy signals or slow dial tones. Television Cox Communications and Cablevision Systems will begin restoring cable service when electricity is available. "i sal 'i- UU' 1 I if -1 W' By Ginny Graybiel News Journal staff writer We're picking up and cooling down. Thousands of us will spend the weekend lifting tree limbs and repairing damage, while more than 2,500 power company workers will continue their efforts to bring lights and air conditioning to our weary, clammy bodies.

Hurricane Erin, which took a dead shot on the city Thursday with winds of 94 mph and gusts of 110 mph, caused an estimated $230 million in damage in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, according to the Florida Insurance Council Inc. The Tallahassee-based lobbying group for the insurance industry estimated about $200 million in damage to Central Florida, where the storm took an 85 mph swipe earlier in the week. "It was very severe for you guys over there," said council vice president Sam Miller. "But it wasn't the catastrophic storm we had all feared." President Clinton signed an emergency declaration Friday that will provide federal assistance to state and local governments. Gov.

Lawton Chiles, who toured some of the worst-hit areas, also asked Clinton for a disaster declaration that would provide victims with loans and grants. "The quicker we can assist in trying to get the community back going full blast, that's exactly what we want to do," said Chiles, accompanied by Federal Emergency Management Agency chief James Lee Witt, U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Pensacola, state Sen. W.D.

Childers, R-Pensacola, and others. Relief trucks loaded with generators, food, blankets and bottled water arrived in the two counties Friday and more will come today. Chiles found a silver lining by comparing Erin to Hurricane Andrew three years ago in South Florida. "I guess after you've seen Andrew, it's better to see one like this," he said. See RESIDENTS, 6A Jerry KovachNews Journal photographer "Chill Out!" could have been Pensacola's unofficial motto Friday as thousands sought ways to live without electricity.

Ice was the first thing on the minds of many. People's Ice sold 80 tons of ice Friday. hit ensscols ores Program predicted Forecasters relied on other models MORE STORMS NOW PREDICTED The Atlantic will have 16 named storms. not the 12 earlier predicted William Gray, a scientist at Colorado State University, said Friday. Nine one more than earlier predicted will be hurricanes.

"What has added to (the predictions) is the early-season activity," Gray said. Since June, five storms have formed, and Florida was hit by both that became hurricanes. The season is most active mid-August to tracking computer models to choose from. There was no reason to give the recently installed program more weight than its older relatives, said Steve Lord, deputy chief of the National Meteorological Center Development Division in Camp Springs, Md. In fact, there was every reason for the forecasters to discount the program and point to Alabama or Mississippi.

Here's why. Just six weeks ago, Lord and other National Weather Service officials unveiled the new hurricane forecasting program. In three years of trial runs, the sophisticated system had proved it could predict a hurricane path with about 20 percent more accuracy than existing programs and do it 72 hours in advance. But the program has weaknesses. It does not perform so well with hurricanes that are not well defined, with strong charac teristics like wind speed, barometric pressure and speed.

See COMPUTER, 6A computer program told forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami that after crossing the Florida peninsula, Erin next would strike land near the Florida-Alabama border. Twice a day, for the next two days, the computer ran the numbers again and again with similar results landfall somewhere between Mobile and Pensacola. So why was Pensacola caught off guard? Because the new computer program is. just one of six storm- By Larry Wheeler News Journal Washington bureau I WASHINGTON Escambia County emergency officials, upset they were not given enough warning about Hurricane Erin's landfall, probably won't like this story. Monday night 72 hours before Erin hit Pensacola a new neighbors rescue couple when trees fall on home Trees, shrubs have powers to heal selves, experts say Trees and shrubs suffered some of the worst damage during Hurricane Erin.

Here's some advice on what to do. QWhat should people do with trees and limbs damaged by the storm? A Look at the limbs to see if they are split or weakened. If so, cut them, because another wind will cause more damage. Keep an eye on your trees. Damaged limbs may not be immediately obvious.

Later they may start to whither and die. Cut broken limbs back to good sturdy wood. Make a straight cut at the collar, where the limb hooks back to the tree or a smaller limb hooks to a bigger limb. The natural collar has the ability to heal and prevent rot damage. Should people use a pruning sealant to help their trees heal? A -No.

Cut the branch at a natural junc- ture, then let the tree use its natural healing capacities. QWhat if trees are still standing, but leaning or somewhat uprooted? Should they be straightened or removed? A If the tree's small enough, try to straighten and anchor it until the roots reestablish. With big trees, you're better off removing them. QWhat about uprooted bushes that are in my yard? A Give them a fighting chance. Trim back the damaged wood.

If necessary, dig around the bush so you can replant it in the same hole. Water it well. You're essentially starting over. QCan any of the wood be used in the fireplace? A- Most trees in this area can be good firewood if dried out except for pine trees. Treated wood from home damage should not be burned in the fireplace.

Source: Chet Harrison, past president of Escambia County Master Gardeners. in a nearby chair when the first tree crashed through the roof and landed between them. Another tree crushed a section of the roof down on Estelle, then the third tree slammed through the roof into a hallway. Chambers immediately knew that his wife's parents in big trouble and 0( did neighbors, who came running to the rescue through the rain and wind. They knew gas fumes would overcome the couple soon.

They cut through the trailer with tools to rescue Sam, who escaped with a scratch to the head. Then they knocked out windows to get to Estelle, who was uninjured, "It looked as if the tree had crushed my mother-in-law in bed," Chambers said. "You couldn't believe anybody could survive through that." MORESTORIES7A By Mark Bradley News Journal staff writer Sam and Estelle McGhee of En-sley were trying to ride out Hurricane Erin's 100 mph winds in their mobile home when three oak trees fell on it, trapping them in their bedroom. Then a gas main burst, spewing gas throughout the home. "We didn't think they were going to make it," said Doug Chambers, who was staying with his in-laws during the storm.

He was one of many Northwest Floridians who called the News Journal on Friday to tell stories about Erin's unsung heroes. Chambers credits the quick action of neighbors in the 8600 block of Grimsley Street with saving the elderly couple. "My wife had just taken breakfast back to them when a big gust of wind knocked down the trees." Estelle, 78, was sitting on the bed and Sam, 68, who is disabled, was is Steve MawyerNews Journal photographer Bret Lomax works to remove limbs from a friend's house in Woodbine Springs Plantation on Friday. Erin knocked down hundreds of trees in the subdivision..