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VOLUME 48, NUMBER 24
County continues to clean up after Hurricane Milton By NATHAN MAYBERG
nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com
PAULETTE LEBLANC
Hurricane Milton damage on the islands Hurricane Milton caused widespread damage on Pine Island and Matlacha when it swept across Southwest Florida last week. Above, power company crews work to restore power to the islands after Milton’s winds nearly knocked down a number of poles along Pine Island Road in Matlacha, and elsewhere. Bokeelia also took a strong punch from the hurricane, with stormpushed water flood much of the area, including Capt’n Cons and other locations at the northern end of Pine Island. With islanders still reeling from past hurricanes, restoration and repairs will continue in the coming months.
More than 200,000 homes and businesses lost electricity during Hurricane Milton, leaving the county with downed power lines, flooded roads and scattered debris while leaving its worst damage for counties to the north. Residents were also asked to avoid local beaches for the next couple days while the cleanup continues. The Lee Department of Health also issued health warnings to avoid going into the water due to health risks. Hurricane Milton hit Captiva and Boca Grande In Matlacha, a tornado hardest. The approach to Blind Pass Bridge in touched down ahead Captiva was damaged. of Hurricane Milton on County crews worked to a day when the restore access to Boca National Weather Grande after sections of Service reported a Gasparilla Road were record number of torwashed out, Lee County nadoes for Florida. Public Safety Director Homes and businessBen Abes said. Other roads were dam- es were damaged. The aged and the county is tornado spread also assessing all of its through the back bay bridges, Abes said. of Fort Myers Beach to In Matlacha, a tornado Hickory Island. touched down ahead of Hurricane Milton on a day when the National Weather Service reported a record number of tornadoes for Florida. Homes and businesses were damaged. The tornado spread through the back bay of Fort Myers Beach to Hickory Island. The good news was there were no deaths reported in the county attributed to Hurricane Milton — a scenario far different than two years ago when Hurricane Ian killed dozens in a Category 4 hurricane. Forecasts had been warning of a catastrophic hurricane that could bring damage as bad as Ian though the worst part of the storm was felt in Sarasota County — where Ian made a direct hit as a Category 3 hurricane. Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to more than 600 storm-related calls. He said low-lying areas of the barrier islands in the county saw “significant surge.” The worst storm surge was seen in the county’s barrier islands, where surge levels approached six feet. The National Weather Service recorded the secondhighest storm surge on record for their Fort Myers station - second to Hurricane Ian. “This is when strangers help strangers,” Marceno said. More than 9,000 people sought safety in county shelters during the storm. U.S. Sen. Rick Scott joined county officials for a briefing on Thursday at the Lee County Emergency Operations Center. Scott said he was thankful nobody appeared to have died in Lee County during Hurricane See HURRICANE MILTON, page 5
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