Town of Fort Myers Beach issued a mandatory evacuation order for the entire barrier island ahead of Hurricane Milton, which increased to a Category 2 hurricane in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico over the weekend. The hurricane is moving east at 8 mph, with maximum sustained winds near 100 mph, and is expected to make landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm Wednesday, according to a 5 a.m. report from the National Hurricane Center. Southwest Florida remains in the cone projecting Milton’s path. For Fort Myers Beach, the Hurricane Re-entry Pass Program will be implemented following Milton. Sandbags and hurricane re-entry passes will be available Oct. 7 for final preparations. City of Marco Island issued a voluntary evacuation order for residents of Marco Island and Goodland. Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 51 counties, including Charlotte, Collier and Lee counties. Several local municipalities, including cities of Bonita Springs, Naples and Sanibel, declared local state of emergency. Lee County anticipates announcing at noon Oct. 7 information about evacuation orders and shelter openings, as well as LeeTran service to those shelters. Collier County Board of County Commissioners will host an emergency special meeting at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 7.