Bonita Springs begins clean up operations

Reporter: Jolena Esperto Writer: Elyssa Morataya
Published: Updated:

We have all heard of the saying ‘the calm before the storm’, and of course, after that comes the chaos and after the chaos is the cleanup.

On Friday, the Department of Transportation pushed sand off the road on Hickory Island after Hurricane Helene ripped through, while the Lee County Sheriff’s Office escorted residents back home through the day.

“So I like to think that this is a sad mess, but it’s not an expensive sad mess like Ian was,” said Bonita Springs resident Sharon Lee Whitt.

Lee Whit was here for Hurricane Ian. She said she was caught off guard by the amount of water she saw in the parking lot.

“We were looking at water that was low, and turned around and looked again, and it was the whole parking lot was flooded. So we packed up and got out of there,” said Lee Whit.

Fortunately, for most people on Hickory Island sand piled outside their homes, not inside.

“I just can’t believe it. It was just so great. I got 25 sandbags on monday at the fire station. And I didn’t know whether they were gonna work or not, but they worked. It really worked,” said resident Barbara Delany.

As southwest Florida approaches the second anniversary of Hurricane Ian on Saturday, a lot of these neighbors are just thankful their work over the last two years wasn’t for nothing.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.