Posted on January 20, 2025
Two hurricanes in the span of 13 days. Another hurricane from two years ago that is considered to be the worst to every hit Southwest Florida in terms of lost life and damage.
Add all of that up and the clean-up of the canals on Fort Myers Beach is tall order. Just when it feels like there is progress with Hurricane Ian debris − that powerful Category 4 storm struck on Sept. 28, 2022 − hurricanes like Helen (September 2024) and Milton (October 2024) come along and push more debris into the canals.
But the efforts continue and progress is being made.
According to Fort Myers Beach Harbormaster Curtis Ludwig:
- The canal cleaning project is running six days a week, Monday–Saturday from 7 a.m.−6 p.m.
- The contractor (Florida Marine Contracting and Recovery) and Fort Myers Beach staff are working off two skiffs with a crew of 10-12 people daily.
- On of the boats has a wench and davit to pull heavier debris such as boats and large objects – all other debris is being pulled out by hand.
- This week the crews have been working on canals from Flamingo Street to Albatross Street on the south end of the island.
- The debris that is being cleaned out of canals is from the storms this past summer, but also from previous storms, like Ian, where old debris that was once covered gets stirred back up to the surface when new storms pass through.
- This is a FEMA project, which means all debris and loads are recorded, documented, and photographed by FEMA and Fort Myers Beach contractors. When the project is complete there will be a report.
“We are extremely happy with how the project is going and the amount of debris we have collected thus far, and look forward to the completion of the project,” Ludwig said in an email.
Cleaning hurricane debris from the canals on Fort Myers Beach is ongoing and is continuing at the start of 2025. Starting with Hurricane Ian in 2022 and then two hurricanes in 13 days this fall, Helene and Milton, crews have been busy pulling piles of debris.
