Ian one year later:How long will it take for Fort Myers Beach, SW Forida to fully recover?

In September 2022, Hurricane Ian's historic surge and winds decimated swaths of Southwest Florida, especially coastal Lee County communities of Pine Island, Matlacha, St. James City, Sanibel Island and Captiva.  The epicenter of the destruction was Fort Myers Beach.

But the Category 4 monster also severely damaged parts of Cape Coral, Harlem Heights in south Fort Myers, Isles of Capri near Marco Island in Collier County and points in-between.

The News-Press/Naples Daily News asked leaders from several hard-hit places when they think their communities will fully recover from the storm. Answers ranged from months to years to a decade.

First, a disclaimer: these are by no means “official” estimates, more like "guess-estimates." Recovery and a sense of normalcy is individual to a person, a neighborhood, a community. No one can foresee how long rebuilding will take.

Fort Myers Beach: Not as far along as they'd like to be

Ian unleashed its peak storm surge in Fort Myers Beach, where inundation levels reached up to 15 feet. An estimated 900 structures were destroyed and 2,200 were damaged, according to a National Hurricane Center report.After Ian, it became clear the island would take years to recover.

Scott Safford said many residents heard it could take about five years to complete rebuilding.

“A lot of us never really internalized that and after the first 9,10 months, the realization became pretty clear that it could be five years the way things are going,” said Safford, who was part of starting the nonprofit Let’s Go FMB, which seeks to accelerate the recovery process on the beach.

He’s hopeful the community can shave that number down to three or four years.

"We’re not trying to be the mob with the pitchforks," Safford said. "We’re trying to be the unified voice."

Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers said the recovery process will take years but it’s too early to estimate a timeframe. “We’re not as far along we would obviously like to be,” said Allers, who hopes the town can complete at least one project a month going forward.

Among the top priorities are infrastructure, including rebuilding a town hall, which could take two to three years to complete, he said. "It’s going to be awhile before we get back to anything that resembles a town hall."

Still, he noted, “We are a functioning island right now … The beach is still beautiful. Please come and see us and support the local businesses.”

Sanibel Island: Normalcy now for some, years for others

It’s hard to say when Sanibel will feel “normal” for everyone, said Sanibel City Manager Dana Souza. “There are different levels of normalcy,” he said. Some folks are “back on Sanibel living their life and doing well.”

The road will be longer for residents of destroyed beachfront condos. Souza anticipated it could be two to three more years before all of the Sanibel condos can be ready for people to return as recovery will be incremental.

Sanibel’s real property values were down about $2.1 billion, about 34%, from July 2022 to July 2023 and some of the biggest losses came from impacted condominiums, according to city officials.

About 20% of businesses have reopened, said Souza. “For businesses that have reopened, we don’t have the same customer base, and so they’re struggling to make it, and we need to support them as much as we can."

Despite the scars left by Ian, Sanibel Island and its beaches are still beautiful. “Please visit Sanibel," Souza said. "There’s a lot to enjoy. There are just fewer busineses open right now. But with people coming back to the island to visit the beach, to shop and have lunch or dinner, it will hasten Sanibel’s recovery.”

There’s also uncertainty in nature.

One year is not long enough to assess the recovery after a storm, especially with climate change in the picture, but the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation has seen some mangrove recovery and short-term benefits for shorebirds.

Captiva: Two years?

As the owner of five restaurants and one historic inn on Captiva Island, Sandy Stilwell Youngquist, CEO/Owner of Stilwell Enterprises & Restaurant Group, described a year of taking “two steps forward, one step backward.”

As of this summer, her RC Otter’s Island Eats had reopened and she hoped to open others in the fall though Captiva Island Inn could be at least a year away. Of Captiva, she said, “I think we’re probably two years to where you wouldn’t even know it happened but probably a year it’s going to be looking so much better.”

Pine Island, Matlacha, St. James City, Bokeelia: Too early to tell

“There’s still a great need out there,” said Aaron Barreda, co-founder of the Greater Pine Island Alliance, a long-term hurricane recovery group. “We still find homes that need to be mucked and gutted.”

About 90% of greater Pine Island homes and buildings suffered Ian-related damage and 20% sustained major damage, according to the alliance.

“It’s absolutely too early to say how long” it will take for the region to fully recover, said Barreda.

Alliance executive director Erin Lollar-Lambert said, “We’re still very much in triage mode.”

The group leaders said it could take more than five years based on what they’ve heard about other communities slammed by large natural disasters.

Cape Coral: In the 'marathon'

Cape Coral Fire Chief Ryan Lamb said hard-hit areas are feeling a little bit more normal every day.

The community transitioned into more intermediate recovery issues such as getting permits and temporary housing and is now looking at long-term recovery “which will probably last for the better part of a decade. … It truly is a marathon as we talk about hurricane recovery.”

Harlem Heights: Nearly complete

Hundreds of homes in Harlem Heights suffered Ian-related damage and owners needed help with repairs, according to The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center, the nonprofit that became a hub for hurricane relief and partnered with recovery organizations. Nearly half of the people in the south Fort Myers neighborhood live below the poverty line and the majority speak Spanish at home.

“In the beginning, people would tell us, two to three to five years and we just looked at them and said, ‘we can’t wait that long,’” said Kathryn Kelly, president, founder and CEO of The Heights Foundation/The Heights Center.

The foundation raised and spent more than $1 million on materials. More than 2,000 volunteers assisted with labor. The goal is for 200 homes to be essentially complete by Christmas.

Isles of Capri: 'Back to normal'

Hurricane Ian flooding impacted nearly half – 200 of the more 400 residential structures in Isles of Capri, a small community near Marco Island, according to Collier County.

Joyce Beatty, a Capri community leader who became known “boots on the ground” after Ian, said that after months of donations and coordination most people are back in their homes. “We’re on the mend, we’re back to normal."

Cape Coral reporter Luis Zambrano contributed reporting. Connect with Janine Zeitlin at jzeitlin@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Ian one year later: How long will it take for SWFL to fully recover?