Heavy rains Tuesday in Collier County caused flooding in some low-lying coastal areas. Everglades City was especially impacted, and prompted authorities to close County Road 29 south of U.S. 41 for much of the morning. CR 29 is the only road going into and out of Everglades City and Chokoloskee.
Dalton Stokes, who works at Jungle Erv's Airboat Tours in Everglades City, said that the deluge put a damper on the area's airboat businesses.
"When it's raining or storming this bad...it just makes for a slow day for us," Stokes said.
While the continual rain put most of the town's streets under water, resident Connie Barker saw the positive side.
"We're really happy to have it, actually," Barker said. "Now the fires will subside and we'll finally have some rain."
The town has another problem to contend with: swarms of mosquitoes that bombard anyone who goes outside.
"I don't think I've ever seen them this bad," Stokes said. "This year, something's weird, they are just everywhere. You step out of your car for one second, they're going to be all over you."
"They're extremely bad," Barker said of the mosquitoes. "They have been for a couple of weeks now."
Her husband Cecil said that between the wildfires, flooding and exploding mosquito population, life has been interesting in rural Collier County this year.
"It's crazy," Cecil Barker said. "Crazy place to live."
