Updated on: 10/10/24 2:00 pm
Lee County Emergency Management urges residents to remain in place this morning, even though Hurricane Milton made landfall north of the county Wednesday night.
Do not drive this morning. There are dangerous, downed powerlines and downed trees. Debris, standing water and other hazards are on roadways. Traffic signals may not be working.
ROADS & BRIDGES
- For updated road closure information visit local Law Enforcement social media.
- County crews continue to asses bridges. Follow the direction of any law enforcement on site.
- Downed power lines, some could be live wires and debris.
- Traffic signals impacted due to lack of power.
EVACUATION ORDERS & SHELTERS
EVACUATION ORDERS:
Those living in evacuation Zones A and B should finalize their hurricane safety plans and evacuate by Tuesday evening. Severe weather is expected to move into our area overnight on Tuesday.
Remember, evacuations do not need to be hundreds of miles away. We encourage you to stay with a friend or family member in a non-evacuated zone. Emergency shelters are also opening for those without a safe place to ride out the storm.
Welfare Checks
Government and local Fire Rescue Departments have partnered to provide welfare checks to help out-of-area people check in on family and friends in Lee County after Hurricane Milton passes.
The partnership was announced Wednesday night just after the storm made landfall north of Lee County.
People only need to email
WelfareStormChecks@leegov.com with the following information about the people they wish to check on:
Name
Address
Phone number
Watch a video to learn more about the welfare check program.
English |
SpanishSHELTERS:
The following shelters are open to the public.
Please bring your own shelf-stable food and enough up to three days to support you and your family. Refrigeration will not be provided.
Visit the
Public Shelters landing page for more information.
Please note: not all shelters are open; only shelters marked as Open are available.
All shelters are pet-friendly. Pet owners are responsible for pet food, and medications and should have all animals on a leash or in a crate.
OPERATIONAL ADJUSTMENTS
Lee County Government offices closed at noon on Monday, 10/7 through Friday 10/11.
Announcements about reopening will be made later in the week, based on the severity of the storm.
Go to
www.leegov.com/departments for specific office or operational information, as some may have slight adjustments in the wake of the storm.
Any unincorporated Lee County Residents or Businesses within the Special Flood Hazard Area with any damage to their homes or businesses, including water intrusion,
must obtain a permit for all repairs. Please email
FIRMinfo@leegov.com for assistance with permit requirements and resources, and be sure to include the following information:
• Contact Information
• Property Address
• Type of Damage
• Height of the water that entered the home
Residents also can find more information
here.
- Residential garbage collection will resume on Monday, October 14.
- Recycling and yard waste collection are suspended until further notice due to the expected high volume of household garbage. Reinstatement of recycling and yard waste collection TBD.
- Storm debris is collected separately from household garbage. Storm debris collections will begin Monday, October 14. The County will complete multiple phases to ensure all debris is collected.
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Place storm debris at the curb in five separate piles: garbage, yard waste, construction debris, appliances, and electronics. Federal Emergency Management Agency rules require documentation of the volume and type of debris collected to reimburse the county for storm cleanup.
- Garbage must be placed in a 40-gallon can or heavy-duty plastic bag, each weighing no more than 50 pounds. If you have a larger county-provided container for automated garbage collection, you may use that as well.
- All household hazardous waste can be delivered to the County’s Household Chemical Waste facility located at 6441 Topaz Ct. Fort Myers, 33966, free at no cost to all Lee County residents.
- Yard waste must be placed in a container (50 pounds or less), or securely tied into bundles not heavier than 50 pounds and no longer than 6 feet in length. Please do not place yard waste in a plastic bag.
To expedite collection, do not place anything beneath low-hanging obstacles like trees or power lines or near anything like fire hydrants or mailboxes.
Food must be removed from any appliance set at the curb. Inedible food should be placed in the garbage with your weekly regular garbage collection.
Private & Gated Communities
FEMA regulations require that private or gated communities have a current Right of Entry and Indemnification form on file with Lee County before any disaster debris recovery crews are allowed to enter the community. Lee County has an easy online process for submitting the necessary paperwork.
Forms are available for communities located within unincorporated Lee County. If you are unsure if your community has a current Right of Entry form on file, please have your community association manager or homeowners association president call 239-533-8000.
, all work done to repair a structure requires a permit from our Department of Community Development (email:
FIRMinfo@leegov.com).
- Libraries are all closed.
- Item due dates and hold pick up dates for physical materials will be extended.
- Electronic resources are available online at www.leelibrary.net/online.
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All Lee County Parks & Recreation sites are closed. Staff is assessing each site. This includes:
- Pools
- Boat ramps
- Recreation centers
- Beach accesses
- Preserves
- Administrative offices
Natural Resources
- Water is continuing to recede as normal.
High tide has already occurred today.
No anticipated sheet flow from the north in the coming days
Despite the surge, Milton was not a heavy rainfall event for Lee County.
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Lee County Utilities has turned water back on for Fort Myers Beach at noon Wednesday 10/10/24
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Assesing Facilities and running off generators when needed
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No anticipated boil water notices except for Fort Myers Beach
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All other Lee County Utilities operations continue as normal
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Animal Services has resumed field operations and will be making emergency calls a priority.
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Animal Services anticipates opening our Lost and Found department Friday, Oct. 11 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. so residents can locate missing pets or bring in found pets so they can be reunited with their owners.
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Lee County residents who currently have a Milton foster can bring them back to the shelter as early as Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., but would appreciate anyone able to foster through the weekend.
- Regular service will be suspended for Thurday 10/10/24 while LeeTran assists with reverse evacuations from shelters, and life sustaining paratransit trips while roadwway evaluations are conducted prior to a safe return to regular service.
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Monitor LeeTran social media for specific rider alerts.
FOLLOW LEE COUNTY ON SOCIAL MEDIA
EMERGENCY ALERT TOOLS
HURRICANE HELENE INFORMATION
Crews continue to assess damages from Hurricane Helene on our barrier islands, including Fort Myers Beach, Boca Grande, Sanibel and Captiva Islands, along with all other impacted areas in the county. Please allow county crews to perform their assessments and to clean up areas that flooded due to Hurricane Helene.
Residents with questions about non-urgent matters can call the Emergency Information Hotline. United Way activated the hotline earlier this week. Call United Way 211 by dialing 2-1-1 or (239) 433-3900 with questions related to closures and real-time updates, Call 9-1-1 for urgent or life-threatening matters.
Stay up to date on Lee County Government operational updates by regularly visiting this page or following the county on
social media:
FEMA Disaster Assistance
Homeowners and renters who have uninsured damage or losses caused by Hurricane Helene, visit
www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362 to determine eligibility for FEMA disaster assistance.
Hurricane Cleanup
Debris must be placed in the right of way for collection - collection crews will not enter your private property to remove debris.
Crews ask that you separate materials into different piles: normal household trash, vegetation, construction and demolition, appliances and electronics. Do not place storm debris into bags.
Please do not place material next to mailboxes, power poles, or fire hydrants.
Collections have resumed as normal as of Monday, Sept. 30, including collections for Captiva and Boca Grande residents.
Do not set hazardous waste at the curb – please take it to the Household Chemical and Electronic Waste Facility, 6441 Topaz Court, Fort Myers.
Remember, all work done to repair a structure requires a permit from our Department of Community Development (email; FIRMinfo@leegov.com) Lee County Business Survey and Florida Commerce Business Survey
We kindly ask that you share the following information to your networks and have them respond to our survey
HERE so that our business community can be aware of current impacts and resources. We will continue to share information as it is available.
The State of Florida Department of Commerce also has a damage assessment survey available and can be found
here.
Lee County Preparation
Teams throughout Lee County Government worked to ensure the county was as prepared as possible for impacts from Hurricane Helene. Examples include:
Department of Transportation
Staff scheduled extra on-call personnel within Operations and Traffic divisions to work overnight on Wednesday and into Thursday to monitor road conditions.
DOT Operations inspected drainage structures in lower-lying areas to make sure they are flowing freely and coordinating with Department of Natural Resources on weir gate operations to provide space for water to stage, where appropriate.
Natural Resources
Staff monitored and evaluated hydrologic conditions from the network of sensors and gauges including groundwater levels, stream level and rainfall to assist in determining areas most vulnerable to flooding;
Staff worked with South Florida Water Management District to clean creeks and streams of exotic and obstructing vegetation, recognizing in many cases they serve as the major watercourses for flood relief and documenting pre-storm conditions along our critically eroded beaches.
Human & Veteran Services
In partnership with Human & Veteran Services and law enforcement, the Salvation Army opened an additional 40 beds at the Center of Hope LIFNAV Center, 2400 Edison Ave., Fort Myers, FL 33901 for people experiencing homelessness.
The department’s HVS Reach app, which is available for free download on the Apple App Store and Google Play, was also updated. Persons experiencing homelessness can sign up to receive push alerts from the app.
News Releases
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Municipalities & Partners
Municipalities
Constitutionals
National Weather Service provides active weather alerts, current conditions, and weather forecasts.
STATE OF LOCAL EMERGENCY
A State of Local Emergency is something municipalities and counties declare to help them prepare for and respond to situations such as hurricanes. A SOLE helps with governmental procurement processes, helps the community receive funds for recovery, and enables the ability of government to make decisions in response to the emergency that can be subsequently ratified.