Community remains without power more than 9 months after Ian

More than nine months after Hurricane Ian, a community remains without power or water.

Things have dragged on for so long that residents of Siesta Bay RV Resort said they’ve grown accustomed to the wait.

When we first introduced you to Desiree Megrant and her wife Deedee back in February, their living quarters were less than desirable.

Now, five months later, not much has improved.

“We still don’t have any power, not even nothing,” said Theresa, Siesta Bay resident. “We still have no power water, sewer it’s there’s the infrastructure underground they’re saying doesn’t is being rebuilt.”

And from what they’ve heard, it won’t be coming back any time soon.

“They’re saying December, January maybe,” Theresa said.

Theresa and her roommate bought their home almost one month before Ian hit. Now they’re having to pay their mortgage, in addition to rent for the apartment they’re staying in.

“My checkbook doesn’t like it a bit. It’s hard, very hard,” Theresa said.

While they’ve given up on moving back in any time soon, they say the lack of utilities makes it difficult even to work on their homes.

“We’re ready to rebuild. It’s hard to do that with no power,” Theresa said.

Residents are only allowed to be in the park between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. No overnight stays are allowed.

So until the power comes back, Siesta Bay will remain a ghost town, leaving many without a place to land.

“It wasn’t just a winter home,” Deedee said. “For us, it was our home. So, a lot of people are displaced.”

But though their patience wears thin, they say they haven’t lost faith that the community they love will someday be together once again.

“Those of us who putting our foot forward to rebuild, we are trying to keep the positive attitude,” Desiree said.

Natalie Higley, Regional Vice President of operations and sales for Sun Outdoors, which owns Siesta Bay, sent in a statement.

In part, it says: “Our assessment of the electric infrastructure has determined there are irreparable damages created by the storm to the wiring and individual home’s power pedestals. We have teamed with FPL to provide a new electrical infrastructure to ensure there are no future service of load concerns. While this takes longer, due to the scope and number of sites, it protects the future of our resident’s homes.”

Sun Outdoors said it is not charging any rent and is allowing people access to their homes to continue renovations.