This is a live news blog about the aftermath of Hurricane Ian which hit Southwest Florida on Friday, Sept. 29. 

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AT&T has been working to gain access to Sanibel Island - which was cut off from the mainland – to begin our restoration efforts there. For this, our FirstNet team loaded a portable cell site onto one of the newest members of our disaster recovery fleet, the amphibious vehicle (link to photos here) which is currently navigating to the island.

In the past 24 hours we have made significant progress in gaining access, assessing, and restoring service to areas impacted by Hurricane Ian:

We have more than 180 crews focused on the hardest hit areas to keep wireless communications running so first responders, emergency personnel and others can stay connected - and more than half of our impacted cell sites in Florida have already been restored.

We began providing other carriers’ customers the ability to roam on our networks. As a result, customers will automatically be connected to our network if their carrier’s network is not available.

The FirstNet team continues to support public safety and FirstNet subscribers by deploying full-scale communications solutions. Our fleet of SatCOLTs (Satellite Cell on Light Trucks) are rolling out to DeSoto, Hardee, Lee and Sarasota counties. We have sites on-air already in Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Sarasota, and Lee counties. Also in the dozens of requests, FirstNet cell sites were restored in Hendry, Lee and Orange counties.

 FGCU Tweeted an update stating classes and activities are now closed until Oct. 9.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno confirms that there are 21 deaths, five of which are not storm related.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has started to release satellite imagery of areas in southwest Florida damaged by Hurricane Ian.

In an interactive map published Friday, parts of Caya Costa, Captiva, and Sanibel Island were shown. Areas of Cape Coral and Fort Myers along the Caloosahatchee River were, too.

Stopping at the Lee County village of Matlacha, Gov. Ron DeSantis Friday afternoon attempted to give some assurance to residents eager to return to homes on neighboring Pine Island, cut off from the mainland by road and bridge damage from Hurricane Ian. 

“Look, I’m committed to fixing that, you know, with the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “Obviously, the county can help. We’ve got to provide access. But how quickly can that be done, even with best efforts is unclear.” 

Similar destruction is keeping even more residents away from homes on Sanibel Island, not far from where Ian made landfall and where rescue workers have gone door-to-door checking on the safety of those who remained while the Category 4 storm tore through. 

Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said that getting law enforcement and other officials onto the barrier islands is among the first tasks, to clear debris and gauge the security of still-standing roads and other structures. 

“Then, we will work on trying to get you guys back in there,” Guthrie said. 

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said he’s talked with state officials about getting a ferry that could be used to temporarily move residents and emergency workers onto the barrier islands. 

He and DeSantis also flexed muscle by saying that security will be a priority in the wake of the storm. 

“We are not going to tolerate, I mean zero tolerance when we say anyone who thinks they’re going to thrive on the residents of this county or state, when we just took a horrific hit, I can guarantee you, that is not going to happen,” said Marceno. 

DeSantis chimed in. “I was touring Punta Gorda yesterday and they’ve boarded up all the businesses and there were people who wrote on their plywood, ‘you loot, we shoot,’” the governor said. 

“At the end of the day, we are not going to allow lawlessness to take advantage of this situation,” he added. 

Motorists are instructed to stay off the roadways to allow recovery efforts to proceed safely, the city of Bonita Springs warned Friday.

"Search and rescue efforts continue throughout the county with local, state and federal resources on air, sea and land," city officials said. "First responders are encountering traffic that is hindering their efforts. Traffic is also slowing responding agencies that are assessing roads, restoring electrical service and staging other recovery efforts.

Access to Bonita Beach Road from the Forester Drive and Hickory Boulevard intersection is limited to residents on foot only. Lee County Department of Transportation closed Big Hickory Pass Bridge due to damage from Hurricane Ian.

The closure of the bridge, which is on the south end of Estero Island between Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Beach, is currently effective. During a bridge inspection Friday, engineers identified deficiencies, leading to the closure. Lee DOT is working with the Florida Department of Transportation, the news release said.

Also, the city will be conducting structural inspections and some structures may be condemned. Bonita Springs earlier Friday also started the first push for debris removal.

Residents are encouraged to visit facebook.com/leecountyflbocc or leegov.com/storm for updates. The city also will post updates to the city Facebook page  and the city’s website.

Lee County is working with its partners to establish Points of Distribution for free food and water. Those sites will be announced Friday afternoon and will be located throughout the county.

Lee County shelter operations continue and shelter capacity will be maintained. If your home was impacted by the storm and you need shelter, you can still go. Check leegov.com/storm for updates on shelter locations.

Crews from Lee County Department of Transportation continue to assess area roads and bridges. The following bridges are closed: Sanibel Causeway, three bridges in Matlacha, New Pass, Big Carlos Pass Bridge and Big Hickory Pass Bridge.

Lee County Utilities and other water providers ask that anyone who witnesses water bubbling up from the ground report it to the utility serving your area. Remember to conserve water as much as possible.

Please continue to be vigilant and alert as sheet flow can still impact water levels of rivers and canals in the coming days.

While staying at home and cleaning storm-related yard waste:

Lee County Schools may be closed for longer than Friday depending on how long the school-based shelters are needed following Hurricane Ian, according to Superintendent Christopher Bernier.  

“We are definitely closed on Friday,” Bernier said Thursday. “Until the community has a place other than school buildings … I don't suspect they (the shelters) will be closed by Monday. More people need help.” 

While a number of people left the shelters early Thursday, many are returning after learning their homes are gone, damaged, or unsafe, according to Bernier.  

Fort Myers, FL, Sept. 30, 2022 – Lee County is consolidating its shelter operations this afternoon as the shelter population shifts during recovery efforts. The remaining shelters still have space for people in need.

The shelters remaining open are:

The residents staying in the following shelters will be relocated to other shelters this afternoon:

Evacuees will have the option of moving to another shelter using their own vehicles or LeeTran. LeeTran vehicles will be taking evacuees to any of the open shelters of their choice.

Lee County Sheriff: "Fort Myers Beach is impassable. We hear you. We understand you have loved ones on the island. Please understand it’s not safe to drive onto the island. Bicycles cannot even make it through clear pathways. We’ll keep you updated on when it’s safe to travel on the island."

The Collier Community Foundation has reactivated their Collier Comes Together Relief Fund to help Hurricane Ian victims. 

This allows the foundation to get immediate aid where it's needed most, according to the foundation's press release. 

Hurricane Ian live Thursday updates: Boil water notice issued for parts of Collier County

One hundred percent of the donations are given to nonprofits helping victims and their families without administrative fees. 

"The fund serves to assure donors' support will reach its intended cause," the press release said. "Fraudulent sites pop-up following a disaster or emergency that mislead donors about where their funds will go."

For more information and to donate online to the Hurricane Relief Fund, visit colliercf.org. 

Checks may also be mailed to the Collier Community Foundation at 1110 Pine Ridge Road, Suite 200, Naples, FL 34108.  Please note Hurricane Fund in the memo line. 

Lee County gave an update recovery efforts Friday morning and told residents to stay off the roads as they are hindering local relief efforts. 

"Search and rescue efforts continue throughout the county with local, state and federal resources on air, sea and land," the county said in a press release Friday. "First responders are encountering traffic that is hindering their efforts. Traffic is also slowing responding agencies that are assessing roads, restoring electrical service and staging other recovery efforts."

Bonita Springs Utilities, Inc. has maintained water service during and after Hurricane Ian throughout our service area, with the exception of Bonita Beach including Little Hickory Island, Big Hickory Island, and Black Island and the area west of Imperial Shores Blvd along Bonita Beach Road.  These areas remain without water service at this time.  All other portions of the service areas have water service available and are not under a boil water notice.  FP&L has restored power to BSU’s two water plants and back-up generator power is no longer required.  BSU’s two wastewater plants continue to rely on back-up generator power. We continue to request that our members conserve water.  This is necessary as many of our wastewater lift stations remain without power and it will take time to pump down stations and send flow to the treatment plants.

If you have any questions, please contact Andy Koebel, Director of Operations, Bonita Springs Utilities, Inc. at (239) 992-0711.

Power: Nearly 2 million customers were without power Friday morning, according to utility tracker poweroutage.us. Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest utility, reported Friday that it had restored power to more than 1 million customers — more than half of those affected by the monster storm. 

Travel: Airports in Tampa and Orlando were expected to reopen Friday, while Fort Myers Airport in southwest Florida remained closed Friday. More than 1,660 flights were canceled Friday due to the storm, according to FlightAware.

Deaths. The destruction left behind by Ian has made it difficult to get an accurate assessment of the loss of life, but there are already reports of 21 deaths, officials said Friday morning. 

State officials said only one of these deaths, in Polk County, was confirmed as a result of the storm, and authorities were still evaluating the cause of the 20 other deaths: 12 were in Charlotte County and eight in Collier County.

But local officials in these areas were also reporting deaths:

Residents in this south Lee County community “have help coming,” Fire Chief Greg DeWitt said. “We know we have five federal teams. (That) encompasses high water vehicles, swift water teams and structural collapse teams.

Hurricane Ian brought heavy winds and flooding to Naples. Roads were flooded and tree were uprooted. And a mandatory curfew remains in effect.

Even so, the city fared better than others in the county.

“It looks like there is damage but that it is manageable,” a relieved Deborah Smith Thurman said of Bonita. “Not total devastation.”

The mess won’t be cleaned up right away. Lee County Solid Waste garbage collection is scheduled to resume Monday on the normally scheduled day for all routes in franchise areas that are accessible to collection trucks, officials said.

But the collection is for household garbage only: Everyday trash items and all spoiled food.

Storm debris is collected separately from household garbage, officials said, and collection of recycling will also resume on an undetermined date.

Florida Hurricane Guide: Find out everything you need to know about preparing for a hurricane or tropical storm in our resource guide

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