County officials urge public to stay off hazardous roads

More than 50% of traffic signals not working at county intersections

County officials urges residents to stay home today

Lee County officials were urging residents to stay off the roads if possible today and stay off the beaches for the next couple days after Hurricane Milton brought extensive flooding to the county, downed power lines, loss of power, debris as well as at least one tornado that touched down in Matlacha and touched the back bay of Fort Myers Beach.

More than 200,000 homes and businesses were without power Thursday afternoon.

“We are asking you today to stay home,” Lee County Public Safety Director Ben Abes said during a press conference Thursday. Abes said debris in the roads and downed power lines that are also in the road require that residents stay home if possible.

Abes said the approach to the Blind Pass Bridge in Captiva was damaged. Other roads were damaged and the county is also assessing all of its bridges.

More than 50% of traffic signals in the county are not working at intersections.

“The longer you can stay off the roads, it is really important for you to do so,” Lee County District 1 Commissioner Kevin Ruane said. “We need your cooperation a little bit longer,” Ruane said in a plea to the public. “Stay indoors. Let us restore power,” he said.

Ruane said there were numerous road issues throughout the county including on Captiva and Boca Grande.

The county’s barrier islands took on a lot of flooding, he said.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said there were no reported deaths from Hurricane Milton throughout the county.

Marceno urged residents to stay off local roads if possible. “If you don’t have to be outside, don’t come out just yet. Let us do our assessments,” he said.

Marceno said there was “significant surge in the coastal areas” during Hurricane Milton last night. Marceno said the Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to more than 600 calls during the storm.

Marceno there was significant tornado activity in Lee County Wednesday, including one tornado that Marceno said ripped through Matlacha and went through Fort Myers Beach to Big Hickory Island.

More than 9,000 people were in the county shelters overnight.

“This is when strangers help stangers,” Marceno said.

U.S. Senator Rick Scott said he was thankful nobody appeared to have died in Lee County during Hurricane Milton but said residents had to be extra cautious not to get hurt while recovering from Milton and repairing damage.

“Don’t use a chainsaw if you don’t know how to use it,” Scott said. “We all have to be careful. Take your time.”

Scott said there was bad storm surge throughout the barriers islands of Lee County and other parts of the state.

Unexpected tornadoes throughout the state led to deaths including several in St. Lucie County, Scott said. “We had some horrible tornadoes.”

The National Weather Service in Miami set a record for the most tornado watches it issued for the state and the National Weather Service in Tampa also approached record reports of tornado activity for the west coast of the state.

Scott said he spoke with President Joe Biden this morning. “He agrees that Congress needs to comeback and make sure federal agencies are fully funded.

Scott said he has spoke with Biden about getting block grants to farmers and ranchers and getting FEMA centers open as close to impacted residents as possible

Scott called on the public to contact his office if they have any problems with FEMA.

“Be a little patient,” Ruane said in a message to the public.

“Let’s be really grateful for what has occurred,” Ruane said. “We could have really been hit a lot harder.”

Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Jim Atterholt said the early analysis was that Milton was “worse than Helene but not as bad as Ian.”

Atterholt said there was some “exhaustion” among residents having to go through another hurricane but said islanders were showing “resilience.”