Lee County Utilities has rescinded a precautionary Boil Water Notice for 99% of the Lee County Utilities service area. Lee County Utilities provides services to more than 97,000 water connections, and less than 1% will remain on a boil water notice.  A Boil Water Notice remains in place for (maps available at leegov.com/storm): Town & River neighborhood, at McGregor and Cypress Lake Drive North Trail RV along Old Orange River Blvd. All of Siesta Isles, which includes Siesta Drive, Cutlass Drive, Deep Passage Lane, and Old Pelican Bay Drive. In the remainder of the Lee County Utilities service area, bacterial [Read More.]

There are three ways to apply for assistance: 1) DisasterAssistance.gov, 2) download the FEMA App for mobile devices, 3) call toll-free 800-621-3362. The line is open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. Help is available in many languages. FEMA will pay hotel and motel costs for eligible survivors from counties hardest hit by Hurricane Ian.  Yesterday, FEMA and the state of Florida activated the Transitional Shelter Assistance Program, providing eligible support for survivors in Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Flagler, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns and Volusia counties. FEMA makes these payments directly to [Read More.]

Household garbage: For public health and safety reasons, for the week of Oct. 10 residents are asked to help place wet, rotting garbage at the curb. If you are able, refrain from setting out dry household garbage until the following week. Recycling collection is scheduled to resume the week of Oct. 17. Regular yard waste collection does not yet have a start date. Storm debris: Create separate piles for vegetative debris, construction debris and appliances. Do not bag or put storm debris in containers. The contractor uses large claw trucks, so keep piles away from obstacles such as mailboxes, utility [Read More.]

Lee County – along with state and federal partners – are consolidating Points of Distribution (PODs) for hurricane-impacted residents who need food and water. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. These locations remain open: Old Bonita Library, 26876 Pine Ave, Bonita Springs Coral Oaks Golf Course, 1800 Northwest 28thAve, Cape Coral Cape Coral Leonard Street, 4820 Leonard St, Cape Coral Estero High School Ballfield Park, 9100 Williams Road, Estero North Fort Myers Recreation Center, 2000 N. Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers Fleamasters Fleamarket, 4135 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Fort Myers Veterans Park Recreation Center, 55 [Read More.]

United Way will be providing box lunches for Estero residents today at the First Baptist Church, 20300 Trailside Drive, west of US 41. Volunteers with United Way will be going to those residential communities severely affected by the hurricane to let them know this service is available.

Hurricane Ian has impacted all of us in Southwest Florida but has been catastrophic for several of our Estero neighborhoods.  There are some residents who have lost everything – cars, household furnishings, clothing, precious keepsakes.  Most of the damage has occurred in communities on the west side of US 41. This includes neighborhoods along West Broadway, Williams Road and Coconut Road. Some residents will have to completely start over, and recovery will be a long-term effort.  We know this is a time when our community wants to come together to support our neighbors who are in need.  One of the [Read More.]

To speed up restoration of power, FPL has provided this explanation of what homeowner's must do to prepare their home to receive power again.

  Lee County has opened a Multi-Agency Resource Center to aid residents impacted by Hurricane Ian with the opportunity for one-stop service.   Center hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday at Lakes Regional Library, 15290 Bass Road, Fort Myers.   The center is co-located with the Disaster Recovery Center, which was opened earlier this week by FEMA and the Florida Division of Emergency Management. This operation is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. Representatives of the Small Business Administration also are available.   Participating organizations onsite include numerous property insurance companies, local and state government offices (with [Read More.]

Waste Pro is directed to focus on collecting regular household trash only – everyday trash items and all spoiled food – no yard waste, bulk or recycling.  Collection of recyclables will resume at a later time. Please set storm debris at the curb away from your normal household trash; it will be collected and documented separately. Place storm debris at the curb in three separate piles: garbage, yard waste and building debris. Federal Emergency Management Agency rules require documentation of the volume and type of debris collected to reimburse the county for storm cleanup. If your trash or recycling container [Read More.]

Ocean Church, located at 22100 S. Tamiami Trail in Estero, is helping collect donations for those who have been impacted by Hurricane Ian.  Donation drop-off hours are 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The following are the items that are the most needed currently: Drinking water Over the counter medication Toiletries (Men & Women) Non-perishable food Adult diapers Baby diapers Baby wipes Baby formula Tarps Generators Gas cans Plywood Portable grills Propane tanks For those wishing to sign up to volunteer to be boots on the ground during this time, or to report the needs that exist in [Read More.]