Helicopters remove boat debris from mangroves at Fort Myers Beach

Reporter: Jolena Esperto Writer: Matias Abril
Published: Updated:

Early Sunday morning, residents near Fort Myers Beach woke up to the sound of helicopters swarming the area.

The helicopters weren’t looking for anyone, but they were looking for something.

Helicopters went from Salty Sams Marina to somewhere seemingly in the Fort Myers Beach Mangroves to collect pieces of boat debris and get the area cleaned up.

The Florida Department of Emergency Management was the group that was hovering over the beach.

The helicopters were noisy, but neighbors were glad that work was being done.

Neighbors who live along the road nearby told WINK that seeing the area get cleaned up was a happy sight and much needed after the horrors of surviving Hurricane Ian on Fort Myers Beach.

“So much decimation around here, nice to see things moving forward, we’re going through it ourselves,” said homeowner Tim Fernan. “We bought a house that had 5 feet of water in it, so it was just down to nothing, and we are building it back out, so I can appreciate what everybody else is going though, and I’ve been through a number of eyes of hurricanes.”

The helicopters wrapped up their work Sunday evening.

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