Strong wind tears roof off neighbor’s home in south Fort Myers

Windy conditions ahead of storms in the forecast Thursday caused damage to a neighbor’s home in south Fort Myers.

“A lot of wind today, but it was forecasted,” said neighbor Barbara Lowen, who lives near the home that was damaged. “We knew it was coming.”

Lowen didn’t expect strong wind would tear her neighbor’s roof off.

”All of a sudden, there was a loud bang,” Lowen said. “And, when I came out, the roof was next door.”

Sharp aluminum landed inches away from where Dorthy Leboanc and her husband were sitting on their patio.

“We were reading our books, and you would hear the wind and holy mackerel,” Leboanc said. “We looked over, and her roof was wobbling … All of a sudden, it all came over.”

Lowen and other neighbors stood outside as firefighters rushed to their street, cutting the roof in pieces to stop other parts from flying.

“It had sharp edges,” Lowen said. “There was a lot of sharp nails sticking out of it. So, at that point, it could be very dangerous to have it off and non-secured.”

Firefighters say, before you go to bed, make sure patio furniture is brought in or tied down, and definitely bring your garbage cans in. You want to make sure nothing can fly away and damage cars and other homes.

Neighbors here are just happy no one was hurt

”We have the greatest neighbors,” Leboanc said. “They were here in no time.”