Recovery Underway After Hurricane Ian Impacts Southwest Florida

The words uttered by City Manager Michael McNees and Fire Chief Christopher Byrne would continue to ring in the ears of those that attended or listened to the Special Called City Council Meeting of Monday, September 26 at 4:00 PM as Southwest Florida was planning for the approach of Hurricane Ian. 

McNees, as well as Byrne, would go on to explain, “although the direction of travel of the storm may still be somewhat in flux as of now, there is one thing that is certain, this will be a major event!”  They would go on to caution residents to be very focused on pulling together their plans should a deviation in direction of the storm require a relocation and orders regarding evacuation.

“People really need to be aware that their mobility may be seriously impacted due to the combination of the high tides over the next few days as well as a major rain event which will accompany the storm,” said McNees.

As the next two day would pass, Ian would continue to gain strength as it passed over Cuba and entered the area of the Gulf of Mexico with its warm water temperatures. It would remain unpredictable as to its eventual landfall as it initially began working its way to the north/northwest and then moving eastward back towards the Collier County coastline.

By the time it impacted Southwest Florida it did so as a strong Category 4 hurricane, pushing a savage storm surge into Everglades City, Marco Island, Isles of Capri, East Naples, the City of Naples, as well as our neighbors north of us in Lee and Charlotte County.

The devastation here in Collier County was major, however the scenes which eventually reached us from Ft. Myers Beach and Sanibel were unfathomable to us all. However, Ian was not done as he worked its way across the Florida Peninsula. In its path Ian would leave a swath of damage and heartache across Florida before exiting the state and entering the Atlantic and making its way into South and North Carolina.

An army of close to 50,000 utility workers have descended upon Southwest Florida to work to help restore the power grid which services our area. Marco Island residents began to see the lights come back on late on Friday, but much work is left to be done before service is restored to 100% of the customers of LCEC on the island. 

Read more breaking news about the aftermath of Hurricane Ian at www.coastalbreezenews.com or visit our Facebook Page as more information is received.