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'2004 Trifecta': Polk County produces documentary 20 years after direct hits from 3 hurricanes

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Published  August 22, 2024 6:52pm EDT
Polk County
FOX 13 News

Polk's historic hurricane season of 2004

Carla Bayron reports

LAKELAND, Fla. - Polk County took three direct hits 20 years ago from back-to-back hurricanes – Charley, Frances and Jeanne. County officials commemorated that historic hurricane season with a 30-minute documentary.

The 2004 hurricane season lives in infamy. The eye of a hurricane hit Polk County three separate times that year.

"It's not a record we want to have, but it demonstrates that storms can come and all can be different, but they all cause damage, and all cause impacts," said Paul Womble, the county's director of emergency management.

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Polk County officials created the documentary, '2004 Trifecta,' to tell the story of what happened 20 years ago, in part to educate newcomers to the area on how to protect themselves.

"We have a family an hour moving to Polk County, basically," said Jeff Foley, the county's media relations officer. "So, many of them are coming from parts of the country where they never experienced a hurricane. They don't know how to prepare, and they don't know preparing might be the thing that saves their house and families." 

Who better to tell the story than those who lived through it themselves? Members of the community submitted photos and videos for the Polk Government Television production.

"It was a huge moment in Polk County, and I think that was the first thought we had on our team," said Waldo Arias, the supervisor of Polk Government Television, the county's 24-hour-a-day cable channel. "We need to put the most artistic and talent here, because the residents deserve something nice and with a cinematic touch. That cooperation between the residents and us was the best experience I have had in my life." 

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The documentary examines the devastating impacts, including damage and deaths; the challenges and the lessons learned that the county has applied today.

"We're in much better shape with our infrastructure," said Womble. "We got a much larger and more substantial emergency operations center. Our board is invested in all those capital improvements, so we can do what we can do to keep our residents safe and informed when we have an emergency." 

Click here to view the documentary, '2004 Trifecta.' PGTV can be found on Spectrum 644, Comcast 5 and Frontier 20. 

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