BANGOR – Hurricane Frances may have downgraded to a tropical storm just after it hit Florida over the weekend, but the storm still left at least four dead, 6 million people without power and billions of dollars in property damage.

Many Maine residents who have homes along the path of the storm still are awaiting word if their winter havens remain standing.

Other Mainers, with help from the local American Red Cross chapter and the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, spent the holiday weekend collecting items and donations that will be sent to the disaster victims.

“We have no idea” if there is any damage, Florida property owner and Bangor resident Robert “Bob” Soulas said Monday. “This past week we haven’t been able to reach anybody. We leave [for Florida] October 1 but we’ll know tomorrow if it’s still there.”

Soulas, a former city councilor and five-time state legislator, and his wife, Doris, live in Maine for six months and spend the rest of the year in Lake Worth, Fla.

Relief drive organizer Sgt. Sean Emery of the Sheriff’s Department said Florida residents still are recovering from Hurricane Charley, which hit the Sunshine State three weeks ago and also caused billions in property damage.

Soulas said his Florida property, which Charley missed, lies just south of Palm Beach.

Damage from Charlie and Frances, combined with meteorologists’ predictions that another hurricane – Ivan – could threaten South Florida this weekend, make clear the need for donations to continue, Emery said.

“They had one hurricane that devastated the area, one that flooded the area and one that we don’t know what will happen,” Emery said while taking a break from packing and organizing donated items. He has several family members in Florida including a grandmother who is in the hospital.

“We knew no matter where it hit, we had friends and family in the path,” he said.

Tax-deductible donations are the easiest way to help disaster victims, said John Stauffer, family services technician for the Pine Tree Chapter of the American Red Cross.

“They will cover the cost of shelter, food and clothing,” he said. “The funds collected from here will be pooled with others from all around the country to help the people in Florida with their specific needs.”

The Red Cross set up shop in front of Sam’s Club on the Hogan Road and handed out fliers that listed suggested donation items and the Sheriff’s Department parked a tractor-trailer beside the store to collect items.

Students from the University of Maine helped out on Saturday, and over the three-day weekend the Red Cross was able to collect more than $1,400.

“The best thing about doing this is that you get to see so many good Maine people,” Stauffer said. “I am so proud to be a Mainer.”

As an example of the goodwill, a group of female Maine Maritime Academy students showed up Saturday with $250, with which they purchased household goods at Sam’s and loaded them into the trailer, Stauffer said. By Monday the trailer contained thousands of items, including pallets of canned goods and paper products and boxes full of toiletries, pet food, batteries, flashlights and ready-to-eat items.

Anyone who would like to contribute to the relief effort can contact Emery at 659-8144 or the local Red Cross at 941-2903.