Collier County resumed government operations and services for the public Oct. 11, two days after Hurricane Milton caused shutdowns, and Collier Area Transit buses began running again.
Florida Power and Light reported shortly before 1 p.m. Oct. 11 that 68,340 homes and businesses are still without power, while it restored electricity to 115,570 after 183,910 were affected out of 236,400 customers.
FPL employees and contractors are working to restore service to city and county residents, but are prioritizing emergency situations, downed power lines, FPL facilities and substations, critical institutions, such as hospitals and emergency service stations, and grids with the highest population. Restoration of the remaining areas will follow that. During restoration efforts, there may be intermittent outages.
All county parks reopened, although some have service limitations and accessibility issues. Headquarters Library, 2385 Orange Blossom Drive, Vanderbilt Beach Library, 788 Vanderbilt Beach Road, and Marco Island Library, 210 S. Heathwood Drive remained closed, as is the Senior Meals Program.
Garbage and recycling collection services also resumed in unincorporated Collier County, city of Marco Island and Everglades City. Naples collections will resume Oct. 14 and officials are asking residents not to place storm-related debris, such as drywall, baseboards, carpet and furniture, in the city’s right of way until collection services resume.
All city beach access points, including Naples Pier and Lowdermilk Park, are closed until further notice and residents are urged not to drive on the sand at beach ends because they may get stuck.
Mayor Teresa Heitmann said sand blown off beaches reached up to 5 feet at some of the beach ends. “I am so happy we were spared,” Heitmann said of the storm veering north.
Citywide recovery efforts continue, and city officials warned that several roads and beach ends are covered with sand and to avoid those areas and drive slowly around recovery crews and emergency personnel.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection advises that clean, white, fluffy sand that washed up from beaches can be returned to the beach without a permit. But it must be free of vegetative and construction debris and organic materials, including mulch, topsoil or black sand. It cannot be placed over any beach vegetation, even if the vegetation looks dead.
Anyone uncertain about the sand quality is asked to contact Natural Resources Manager Natalie Hardman at 239-213-1031 or nhardman@naplesgov.com for guidance or to request a sand inspection. Replacing steps, walkovers and dune plantings still require a city permit.
Removal of wet drywall up to 4 feet, damaged cabinets, carpeting and baseboards is allowed without a permit, but replacement requires a building permit and a Federal Emergency Management Agency National Flood Insurance Program review to determine whether there’s been substantial damage. Officials warn that all work should be done by a licensed contractor.
Naples residents are being asked to avoid pressure washing driveways or draining swimming pools until streets are cleared due to the effect the storm had on the stormwater system. As employees work to clear all stormwater pipes, they want to prevent additional water from entering the system.
