After Ian: Updates for Tuesday, Oct. 4

Information we receive about power and utility restoration, food and other important recovery efforts will be posted here.

Scripps Howard Fund Hurricane Ian relief drive: Text STORM to 50155 to make a contribution.

OUTAGES - Click here for information on interactive outage maps. Utility companies are aware of the widespread outages and ask you do not make new outage reports. FPL outages are sourced from the online map reports and indicate estimated restoration times; LCEC's outages are posted at regular intervals on their Storm Center page.

From LCEC: LCEC announced they plan to have power restored to 95% of the power grid by 10/8. According to LCEC, power has been restored to 6,500 customers. The restoration process focuses on major facilities that supply power to main circuits to help energize essential services. LCEC reports they're receiving mutual aid from FPL and other electrical cooperatives.

• FPL has opened outage relief centers where customers can get updates, depending on location, ice, water, device charging, etc.; operating hours have not been posted.
  
  • Naples: 500 Park Shore Drive
  • Holmes Beach: 5701 Marina Drive
  • Bradenton: 5475 University Parkway
  • Venice: 1251 Pinebrook Road
  • Venice: 326 S. Nokomis
  • Arcadia: 20692 SE Highway
  • Port Charlotte: 19100 Murdock Circle
  • Fort Myers: 2980 Edison Avenue
  • Fort Myers: 12401 Summerlin Road
  • Fort Myers: 10750 Kelly Road
  • Fort Myers: 17105 San Carlos Boulevard
  • Estero: 9100 Williams Road
  • Bonita Springs: 10255 W Terry Street

The City of Cape Coral has electronic device charging stations located at City Hall, Police Department Headquarters, and Fire Department Stations (with the exception of Fire Station 10) available daily, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

SHELTERS
Lee County has adjusted its shelter operations to adjust for current needs:

• Estero Recreation Center, 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd., Estero
• Hertz Arena, 11000 Everblades Pkwy., Estero
• South Fort Myers High School, 14020 Plantation Road, Fort Myers

FUEL
A pop-up fueling station is being set up at the STARS complex, where a tanker will be available to top off tanks beginning at 10 a.m. Debit or credit cards only.

HELP WANTED
Cape Coral is hiring debris removal monitors/contractors. Call 1-866-960-2325 (option 2) for more details.

Thompson Consulting will hire local residents to support Lee County debris removal efforts. No physical labor involved and no experience is necessary. Hiring event 4 p.m. Tuesday, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Wednesday and Friday, 2050 Broadway Circle, Fort Myers. Click here [PDF] for full details.

VOLUNTEERS
Statewide, those interested in helping in the Ian recovery effort can visit http://www.volunteerflorida.org to sign up.

The Charlotte County Volunteer Reception Center is now open. To register and receive an assignment with an agency that needs assistance, visit 227 Sullivan St., Punta Gorda, FL 33950, open from 7–11 a.m. daily. You can also register at coadfl.org.
Donations of food and goods are being accepted at St. Vincent de Paul, 25200 Airport Road, Punta Gorda, FL 33950.

INSURANCE ISSUES/REBUILDING
Those with concerns related to insurance are invited to attend an "insurance village" (also known as an "Initial Payment Center," at Port Charlotte Town Center, 1441 Tamiami Trail, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., which will be open daily until further notice.

If you believe you have fallen victim to insurance fraud or an unlicensed contractor, you can call the State Attorney's Office at 1-239-533-1342.

Lee County has announced the opening of an office for special rebuilding permits for construction and well water systems. The City of Fort Myers has waived permit fees associated with rebuilding as a result of the hurricane for 90 days effective Sep 30th.

The City of Punta Gorda Building department will be open during normal business hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) today, Tuesday Oct. 4, 2022. The inspection request line and online services for scheduling inspections are currently live. All state and local contractors must still register and obtain a permit for any roofing work performed over three (3) squares (300 sq ft) in the City of Punta Gorda. Please call (941) 575-3324.

Operation Blue Roof provides no-cost temporary repairs for roofs damaged by Ian in Charlotte and Lee Counties. Call 888-766-3258 or visit Blueroof.us

WATER SAFETY
All Charlotte County Utilities Department customers should have water service at this time. Please be aware that your water pressure may be lower than normal. As a reminder, please limit your usage, and you are currently under a boil water notice until further notice.
Please contact the Emergency Management call center at 941-743-1320 or 941-833-4000 if you do not have water, or see a large amount of water coming out of the ground, or are experiencing a sewer backup.

A Boil Water Notice remains in effect for all customers of Lee County Utilities as well as other utilities serving Lee County. This includes residents of Fort Myers, Cape Coral. Customers of some utilities – such as FGUA in Lehigh and Bonita Springs Utilities – no longer have to boil water. Check with your utility to determine your status – but if you do not know, continue to boil as a precaution.

Collier County Public Utilities has lifted the precautionary boil/disinfection water notice for customers on Gulf Shore Drive. Residents may check the current status of boil water notices on the Water Outage and Boil Water map at colliercountyfl.gov/boilwatermap

CURFEWS
Most of Lee County remains under a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. Pine Island, Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Beach are under a 24/7 curfew.

• Sanibel is under a 24/7 curfew until Thursday, when the city transitions to a 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew.

A mandatory curfew is in place for all of Collier County and the City of Naples between the hours of 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. It is anticipated that the curfew will remain in effect until power is largely restored.

The curfew for Charlotte County has been amended to 10 p.m. - 6 a.m., effective immediately

WASTE MANAGEMENT

WM (Waste Management) of Charlotte County will resume residential garbage collection service on Wednesday, October 5 on its regular schedule. WM will collect only household garbage in carts and bags. Recycling, yard waste and bulk items will not be collected at this time. Commercial and roll off service has also resumed.

The City of Naples has resumed garbage and recycling collections for all single-family, multi-family, and commercial properties as of Monday. Visit https://www.naplesgov.com/hurricane/page/solid-waste-debris-removal for full instructions/details.

Charlotte County curbside collection service will resume Wednesday. Regular household solid waste only. No recycling, vegetation, or construction and demolition will be collected until further notice. Before discarding refrigerators, remove all food items. Food being discarded should be bagged before going into solid waste bins. Mini-transfer facilities and the landfill remain closed at this time.

North Port officials say that normal garbage collection schedule begins Wednesday, along with debris pickup. Recycling resumes normal schedule Oct. 12.

Waste Pro (Cape Coral) and Lee County Solid Waste have resumed collection schedules. Household garbage only, including everyday trash and spoiled food items — Collection of recycling, horticulture, and bulk waste will resume later.

LEE COUNTY DEBRIS-DROP OFF SITES (RESIDENTIAL)

• Mosquito Control, 1840 Gunnery Road, Lehigh Acres
• Brooks Park, 50 South Road, Fort Myers
• San Carlos Utility Site, 18078 Cypress Point Road, Fort Myers
• Shell Factory, 2805 N. Tamiami Trail, North Fort Myers
  
  • Businesses are encouraged to take their storm debris to the Waste-to-Energy Facility, 10500 Buckingham Road, and will be charged by weight. It will be open regular hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Landscaping companies hauling vegetative storm debris cleared from residential properties will need a signed declaration from the resident indicating the address where the debris was generated. No debris will be accepted without a signed declaration.

Cape Coral residents may drop off vegetative debris at 1130 NW 28th Place from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily.

• You must bring ID to show you are a Cape Coral resident. Do not place debris in bags.

Oregon Products is set up at the SWFL Enterprise Center to help sharpen chainsaws and any products needed for tree removal free of charge - They'll be there for the next week to 10 days.

FOOD AND WATER
Ocean Church in Estero, 22100 South Tamiami Trail, tells us they have food and water available to those who need it.

CityFirst Church Cape Coral will hold a distribution of hot meals at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. today.

St. Matthews distribution: 11am-1pm, Cornerstone United Methodist Church (9200 Immokalee Rd.)

Chefs for Florida food/water distributions at the following locations from lunch through sunset:

• 127 Cape Coral Parkway W, Cape Coral
• 33 Tropical Shore Way, Fort Myers Beach
• 3263 Cleveland Ave, Fort Myers
• 6941 San Casa Dr., Englewood
• 19100 Murdock Cir, Port Charlotte

Hot meals, snacks, water offered from 5pm at Athenian Academy, 18851 Oak Center Dr.

Cape Coral Community Church and Salvation Army will have food for 1,000 people at 811 Santa Barbara Blvd. from noon until supplies run out.

Christian Life Fellowship will hold a supply distribution today at 8 a.m., as well as a meal distribution at noon, at 1200 SW 20th Ave. in Cape Coral.

Free water, ice, food and cleaning supplies being distributed at the Winn-Dixie at 2000 Kings Hwy. in Punta Gorda from 10 a.m. until supplies are exhausted.

Sarasota County has created a Twitter thread listing points of distribution, which you can access here.

Lee County released a list of distribution points, which will open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Old Bonita Library, 26876 Pine Ave., Bonita Springs
• Kelly Road Soccer Complex, 10750 Kelly Road, Fort Myers
• Cape Coral Sports Complex, 1410 Sports Blvd., Cape Coral
• Cape Coral Leonard Street, 4820 Leonard St., Cape Coral
• Estero High School Ballfield Park, 9100 Williams Road, Estero
• North Fort Myers Recreation Center, 2000 N. Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers
• Fleamasters Fleamarket, 4135 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Fort Myers
• Veterans Park Recreation Center, 55 Homestead Road S., Lehigh Acres
• Across the street from City Hall, 1020 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral
• Coral Oaks Golf Course, 1800 NW 28^th Ave, Cape Coral
  

Charlotte County has two food and water distribution centers opened:

• Muscle Car City Museum, 10175 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Charlotte Sports Park, 2300 El Jobean Rd., Port Charlotte, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

GENERATORS
Orthopedic Center of Southwest Florida (12670 Creekside Lane in Fort Myers) will have a giveaway Tuesday from noon to 3 pm. They will have food and water, plus generators and gas.

TRANSPORTATION
Southwest Florida International Airport is expected to resume public operations with a limited schedule on Wednesday.

Charlotte County Transit resumed operations on Tuesday. To make a reservation call 941-575-4000.

Ft. Myers-based Seminole Gulf Railway sustained substantial damage from Hurricane Ian. Several bridge structures were destroyed by the storm surge at Caloosahatchee and Peace Rivers, making the railroad inoperable for several months.

MEDICAL
KIDZ Medical Services is open and seeing young patients. 2600 Immokalee Rd., Naples. Leadership at the medical center says, "No child will be turned away."

GoodRx is offering free telehealth services with code FL-CARE-100

Click here for updates on Lee Health facility reopening status.

A Mobile Health Clinic is set up at Estero Recreation Center, 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd., Estero. The clinic is currently open 24 hours a day providing urgent care services.

HCA Florida Cape Coral Emergency at 322 SW Pine Island Road has re-opened.

FPL announced it has restored service to all hospitals in its coverage area. This is expected to expedite recovery and reopenings for ERs and medical facilities.

Veterans enrolled for VA Health Care in Florida, South Georgia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Veterans who receive care in the network can call 1-877-741-3400 around the clock to get their health questions or concerns answered.

SCHOOLS
All Lee County Schools campuses will remain closed this week. A board meeting is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday to discuss future plans.
Charlotte County Schools campuses will remain closed until further notice.
Collier County Schools will resume operations on Thursday.
Glades County Schools resumed operations on Monday.
Hendry County Schools classes resume on Tuesday.

PETS/ANIMALS
University of Florida Veterinarians is offering free veterinary services today. The daily service will run 9am-5pm daily from Terry Park, 3410 Palm Beach Blvd. until further notice.

COMMUNICATIONS
Click here for Verizon's critical response updates.
Click here for Comcast/Xfinity's critical response updates.

MISCELLANEOUS
P&G’s Tide Loads of Hope Mobile Laundry Units will be collecting and cleaning laundry today from 9am to 5pm, at the Walmart Supercenter, 545 Pine Island Rd., North Fort Myers.

Goodwill is offering individuals and families who suffered a loss of personal items a $25 voucher (maximum of 4 per family) from 10am - 4pm at the following Goodwill retail stores and Community Resource Centers:

• Del Prado, 3226 Del Prado Blvd. S., Cape Coral
• LaBelle, 91 S. Lee Street, LaBelle
• Bonita Springs, 11601 Bonita Beach Road SE.
• Palm Beach, 4162 Palm Beach Blvd., Fort Myers
• Clewiston Goodwill, 957 W Sugarland Hwy
• Cape Christian Church, 2110 Chiquita Blvd. S., Cape Coral

All City of Cape Coral Parks & Recreation locations are closed due to the impacts of Hurricane Ian.