Aftermath of Hurricane Ian: Here's what reporters, editors are seeing in Lee County
Here is what News-Press reporters and editors are seeing in Lee County on Thursday.
Hurricane Ian live Thursday updates: Sanibel, Pine Island bridges damaged, DeSantis says
AND: Hurricane Ian: Lee sheriff says fatalities likely 'in the hundreds' on national TV show
Daniels Parkway and I-75
Editor Mark Bickel reported a turned over semi truck at the rest area just off I-75 at Daniel’s Parkway.
RV Park in Fort Myers
An RV Park in Fort Myers is flooded, reporter Samantha Neely reports.
Bonita Springs and Bonita Beach
Florida Investigative Reporter Kate Cimini drove through Bonita Springs and then parked and proceeded on foot and as far as she could up Bonita Beach on Thursday morning.
The sidewalk on much of Bonita Beach Road was covered in a very clean smelling, slick, pale-gray mud that makes you slip every single time you put a foot down. The mangroves naturally act as a beak, and this time also acted as trash collectors. Everywhere you look, they are holding coolers, pillows, mattresses, pieces of furniture and even staircases.
Traffic lights hung at odd angles, cars had been abandoned in the middle of roads and perched on top of mangrove groves and sat in the middle of the road, tangled in power lines. Some structures had been flattened by the storm surge, including Doc's Beach House.
The walls on Doc's Beach House caved in when the storm surge went back out. Charlie Cibula, the owner’s son, said his father has owned it since 1987. Nearby, his father picked through the wreckage of the restaurant's first floor, standing in the doorway. There were no walls surrounding the door frame.
“We’ll get it back up and running,” Cibula said.
Doc's Beach House also suffered a propane leak, and Lee County sheriff's deputies were turning residents back, urging them to stay away and stay safe. The smell of gas wafted through the air, and was noticeable blocks away.
The walls on Doc's Beach House caved in when the storm surge went back out. Charlie Cibula, the owner’s son, said his father has owned it since 1987. Nearby, his father picked through the wreckage of the restaurant's first floor, standing in the doorway. There were no walls surrounding the door frame.
“We’ll get it back up and running,” Cibula said.
Ermanno Coletti, a Bonita resident, said his boat was one of the lucky ones. Although it snapped loose from its mooring, it got stuck on a piling and didn't leave with the water, unlike many others.
Jason Crosser, who owns 8-Bit Hall of Fame, a classic video game store on Bonita Beach Road Southwest near the curve, lost everything. He and his wife, Erica, perched outside their shop on the empty windowsills, a cutout of Hulk Hogan next to them. Crosser said he knew yesterday afternoon that his shop had been lost, when a local news channel showed a photo of the building where his shop was located. In the photo, his shop was already halfway submerged, he said.
Crosster's eyes were rimmed with red, and he could barely keep from crying. He's lived here for 16 years, and pumped every dollar back into his shop that he could, he said. It was a labor of love.
"We don't know what to do first," he said. He used to be a history teacher, he added, and said he might just move on.
"I might go back to Iowa and teach."
Davis and Summerlin Road Fort Myers
Reporter Dan Glaun was in Fort Myers this morning off Davis Road and Summerlin Road.
In his video the street and sidewalks are submerged in water, street signs were knocked over.
Joy McCormack, a retiree, told Glaun she lives in the mobile home park down this submerged stretch of Davis Road. She believes she lost everything.
She moved in about a year ago and says she was denied flood insurance by Citizens, a state-run insurance company, because she couldn't prove her home had a recently renovated roof.
She moved in about a year ago and says she was denied flood insurance by Citizens, a state-run insurance company, because she couldn't prove her home had a recently renovated roof.
Top Golf in Fort Myers
Audience Development Editor Mark Bickel drove down Colonial Boulevard on Thursday around 9:40 a.m. Top Golf netting was torn down by Hurricane Ian.
Nikki Ross covers education for the Fort Myers News-Press and Naples Daily News. She can be reached at NRoss@gannett.com, follow her on Twitter @nikkiinreallife, Instagram @reporternikkiinreallife or TikTok @nikki.inreallife.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hurricane Ian's aftermath: What reporters, editors are seeing Thursday
