WEEK OF OCTOBER 12, 2022
VOLUME 60, NUMBER 47
AP PHOTO/WILFREDO LEE
A damaged causeway to Sanibel Island is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, near Sanibel Island.
Temporary repairs to causeway enable one-time convoy
Following evacuations, recovery efforts begin on islands By TIFFANY REPECKI
trepecki@breezenewspapers.com
n the days after Hurricane Ian made landfall near Cayo Costa as a Category 4 storm, those who had remained on Sanibel and Captiva were being evacuated to the mainland — by helicopter, boat and ferry. Parts of the Sanibel Causeway, including a section of the bridge, had been washed away.
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On Sept. 28 at about 3 p.m., the storm came ashore with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, just shy of the 157 or higher mph required to make it a Category 5. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it brought intense winds and heavy rainfall, including storm surge with an unprecedented inundation of 12 to 18 feet above ground level in Lee County and along the coastline. See RECOVERY, page 8
The only roadway access to Sanibel and Captiva, the Sanibel Causeway sustained damage in several parts — including a section of the bridge washing away — from Hurricane Ian. The Category 4 storm made landfall on Sept. 28 near Cayo Costa with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. AP PHOTO/WILFREDO LEE
On Oct. 11, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that temporary repairs to the Sanibel Causeway will allow a one-time convoy of power restoration equipment, supplies and crews to access Sanibel and continue restoration efforts. Once crews are on the island, the Florida Department of Transportation will resume repairs to restore access to the island for residents, which is expected to be complete by the end of the month. The temporary repairs to the bridge will allow over 200 bucket trucks, 150 line and pickup trucks towing 50 trailers and two tractor trailers to move onto the island, along with additional first responders to cross the bridge and aid in recovery efforts while final road repairs are underway. It includes crews from across the state, Lee County Electric Cooperative, Florida Power and Light and members of the Florida Electric Cooperative Association. Last week, barges began to deploy to move equipment and supplies to Sanibel to restore power and ensure wraparound services are available as quickly as possible. Barges continue to move daily to transport equipment, personnel and supplies to support recovery operations.
LCEC gives update on restoration, heads to islands On Oct. 11, LCEC reported that it had restored power to most of its 240,586 customers who were able to receive power, with the exception of those on Sanibel and Captiva, along with Pine Island. Efforts to restore the remaining customers were underway, utilizing more than 1,000 utility personnel on the mainland and hundreds of FPL and Duke Energy workers on the islands and Pine Island. “LCEC is focused on restoring power to each and every customer, including those on the barrier islands,” officials reported. “LCEC, state and local officials and an army of restoration partners share the same mission to restore power as quickly as possible for all of our members.” On Oct. 10, LCEC and its mutual aid partners restored power to thousands of customers in Cape Coral and North Fort Myers, bringing total customers out of service in Lee County to less than 5 percent, excluding Sanibel-Captiva and Pine Island. LCEC LCEC reported that the current complement of crews The LCEC Command Center heads to Sanibel via barge on Oct. 10. It was accompanied by planfrom mutual aid partners will remain on restoration ners, restoration coordinators, engineers, information technology and other experts to assist in the See LCEC, page 10 restoration of the major destruction of electrical infrastructure caused by Hurricane Ian.