The Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) provides power utility coverage to approximately 200,000 homes in Sanibel, Cape Coral and Pine Island: three of the hardest hit western zone regions in the Hurricane Ian disaster.  Hundreds of people have asked me in my extensive travels why there are zero power trucks visible in Cape Coral working on the power grid, downed power lines and broken infrastructure.  Now, it looks like we have the answer.

What LCEC is intentionally doing is jaw-dropping.  In all my years of hurricane recovery, there has never –NEVER– been a more crystal-clear example of a decision to put profits over people.  LCEC is literally taking advantage of tens of thousands of vulnerable residents. Tonight, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is calling them out [LINK].  I will explain what is happening, but first check out the DeSantis message:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, after receiving a briefing at the State Emergency Operations Center on current efforts to restore power in Southwest Florida, Governor DeSantis called on the Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) to accept additional mutual aid to expedite power restoration to the residents of Cape Coral, North Fort Myers, Sanibel and Pine Island.

At this time, Florida Power and Light (FPL) has restored power to more than 45% of their accounts in Lee County, while LCEC has only restored power to 9% of their accounts (18,000 out of 183,000 customers). To assist in restoration efforts, the Florida Electrical Cooperatives Association has readied resources from its members around the state that are available to deploy on mutual aid.

Mutual aid would allow the LCEC to expedite power restoration, especially to Cape Coral and North Fort Myers as residents return to their homes and begin the road to recovery. Power restoration in these areas is also essential to resume the full use of essential services such as health care facilities, operation of schools and ensure access to running water. (link)

Please share this part far and wide.  You know me to call the baby ugly when warranted; this is one such time. People in the impact zone need to know what is happening.

The Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) purchases energy from Florida Power and Light (FP&L).  LCEC then passes along the energy cost to the Sanibel, Cape Coral and Pine Island residents in the form of traditional electricity billing.

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Hopefully this hotspot holds up.  First things first, we are surrounded by the grace of a loving God, and we are thankful.

To begin updating day #2 on the ground in Southwest Florida (SWFL) allow me to please remind everyone to take these storms seriously and take all the advanced preparations needed to protect yourself and your family.  You can never overprepare.   Additionally, if you did evacuate from the area, stay where you are.  There’s no need to come back into the recovery zone and there are virtually no utilities (electricity, water) operating in most areas.

Working today with a search and recovery team from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, there are multiple agencies from around the Southeast sending resources.  We are incredibly grateful, and every resource is a blessing.

Day 2, while efforts continue, there are parts of the barrier islands (Sanibel, Pine Island, Matlacha and Fort Myers Beach) that are still inaccessible by anything other than air.  There is an evacuation ferry operation running every 90 minutes from Sanibel (West side of where causeway used to be) to pull people from the island. 10am – 5pm

Matlacha (North end of Pine Island) is also a boat rescue operation after the bridge failed.

Incredibly, the historic Sanibel Lighthouse did survive the storm albeit with damage.  The lightkeepers house is gone as are all the buildings around the Southern tip of the Island, but the Lighthouse is standing.  There’s a metaphor and a message in that outcome.

Unfortunately, there are many people missing, and frantic out of state families looking for their loved ones.  Hopefully, those missing were just last-minute evacuees that don’t know people are looking for them, and/or people with no way to communicate their status.  Local radio stations are broadcasting names and addresses of missing persons in the hope that people can call in with information.  This is why a communication plan is so critical for anyone in an extreme weather impact zone.

Search and rescue units are still working throughout Southwest Florida by air, boat and house-to-house searches.  Some power and some water services have returned to the Eastern side of the impact zone, but as you go west (toward the coast) the power and water services are in much worse shape.  [Tip: This is why garbage cans full of water are a part of the proactive planning.  You can hydrate with bottled water, but you cannot clean without a stored potable water supply.]

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I don’t even know where to begin.  Hopefully this hotspot holds up long enough to transmit.  Thanks Ad Rem for earlier.

First things first, myself and family are okay.  We are blessed and fortunate.  Thank you for all your thoughts, prayers and well wishes.

For those who are familiar with Hurricanes, Ian was unique; painfully slow and painfully unique.  However, it had similarities to three previous storms, Frances (location), Michael (intensity) and Andrew (aftermath).   What made Ian very unique was the duration.

Normally there is 1 hour scary, 1 hour hell, 1 hour scary.  Soup to nuts three to four hours.   For Ian, that was just the first half.  With a start time around 1:30pm and a finish time around 9:30pm this one was brutal.  That’s why so much infrastructure failure.

When I saw the search and rescue flight path overhead at daybreak this morning, I knew the barrier Islands were catastrophic.  Indeed, Fort Myers beach, Sanibel Island, Upper Captiva and Pine Island all suffered topography changing events.   People will reevaluate living on barrier islands.

The Sanibel Causeway is destroyed.  The three spans still exist, but the spoil islands which held the road are totally wrecked.  No way on/off the island by vehicle.  The Pine Island bridge also failed.  The only way to Sanibel or Pine Island is by boat.  The dozens of air national guard flights today were all heading to those locations.  Regional Southwest Airport (RSW) remains closed except for rescue flights.

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As many long-time readers will know, we do have a little bit more than average experience dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes. I am not an expert in the before part; you need to heed the local, very local, professionals who will guide you through any preparation, and neighborhood specific guidelines, for your immediate area.

But when it comes to the ‘after part’, well, as a long-time CERT recovery member perhaps I can guide you through the expectation and you might find some value.

Consider this little word salad a buffet. If you are new to Florida hurricanes, absorb what might be of value pass over anything else.

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Tucker Carlson accurately outlined the most likely suspect of the sabotage against Russia’s Nord Stream I and II pipeline today.  When you consider the media blitz by Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, last weekend (ABC, CNN, NBC and CBS); specifically pointing out the U.S. position against Russia; it is almost a certainty that U.S. action was behind the underwater detonation of explosives to take out Nord Stream pipeline system.  WATCH:

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The projected path of Hurricane Ian, a category 4 storm, has now been narrowed.  Landfall is anticipated just North of Cape Coral in the Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte area.  Lee and Charlotte counties will likely feel greatest impact from Ian starting overnight through all day Wednesday, with eyewall entering Southwest Florida (SWFL) overnight Wednesday.

All preparations must be rushed to completion.  Power outages will likely start sporadically happening early to midday tomorrow (Wed).  Evacuation zones have been expanded due to increased storm surge prediction.  Pay close attention to your local officials and local media.  If you are staying in the Lee or Charlotte coastal area, now is the time to finish inside preparations.  Local SWFL radar is now tracking storm [Local Media Link].

Boca Grande Pass, famous for exceptional Tarpon fishing, looks to be the immediate coastal area where the greatest wind driven storm surge will impact.   Gulf water will be pushed up the Caloosahatchee and Peace rivers creating expanded flooding further inland.  The flooding and storm are anticipated to be the largest in SWFL history and are the greatest risk.

(NHC) – Maximum sustained winds remain near 120 mph (195 km/h) with higher gusts. Ian is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Re-strengthening is expected later today through Wednesday. Ian is forecast to approach the west coast of Florida as an extremely dangerous major hurricane. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles (65 km) from the center. (more)

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[National Hurricane Center Data]  As of 11:00am ET Tuesday, Hurricane Ian has maximum sustained winds of 115 mph [Category 3].  Ian is anticipated to continue strengthening in the next 24 hours as it enters the Gulf of Mexico as a major hurricane [Cat 3+].  All west coast Florida residents from Bonita Springs to Tampa should use Today to finalize their hurricane preparations.

Today is the last good weather day to finish your preparations and secure your property.  Do not be alarmed but do take this hurricane seriously. This is not a ‘wait and see’ type storm.  All reasonable precautions should be completed today, and all coastal residents are urged to pay close attention to local officials for evacuation orders.  Each locality is different, each coastal locality has a zone of potential flooding and storm surge.  As a general rule, hunker down from wind – but evacuate from water.

[NHC] At 1100 AM EDT (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Ian was located near latitude 23.0 North, longitude 83.5 West. Ian is moving toward the north near 10 mph (17 km/h), and this motion is expected to continue today. A turn toward the north-northeast with a reduction in forward speed is forecast tonight and Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of Ian is expected to move over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico in a couple of hours, pass west of the Florida Keys later today, and approach the west coast of Florida within the hurricane warning area on Wednesday and Wednesday night. (more)

Official projections now put the storm further east and slightly south, just off the Florida southwest coast on Wednesday night, with the potential for a 24-hour duration cycle. That is an alarming amount of time for a major hurricane to be centered near or on the coast.  That is a minimum of two tidal cycles, which will make a big difference from prior hurricanes in terms of flooding and the potential for a historic storm surge into inland waterways.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pointed out the difference between Hurricane Charley (’04) and the current Hurricane Ian, with both of them projected to follow a similar path, yet both delivering a different threat.  Charley was a fast-moving category 4 storm carrying lots of wind damage.  Ian is anticipated to be a slow-moving Category 4 storm pushing a lot of water damage and dangerous storm surge.

Additional information provided in the briefing, including 28,000 pre-staged power and utility workers.  WATCH:

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GREAT NEWS – Looks like the Italians have decided to Make Italy Great Again and voted overwhelmingly to support Giorgia Meloni and the nationalist coalition.  With an anticipated 45% of the exit polls, this outcome will almost certainly make Giorgia Meloni the first female prime minister in Italy.

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Appearing on CBS Face the Nation today, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan proudly boasted of the $15 billion in weapons the U.S. has shipped into Ukraine, while restating the official position of the Biden administration that the U.S. will never permit Russia to hold the eastern part of our proxy state.

Ukraine is to the United States as North Korea is to China. WATCH:

[Transcript] – MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Good morning to you, Jake. Thank you for joining us.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR JAKE SULLIVAN: Thanks for having me.

MARGARET BRENNAN: President Zelenskyy told us that if this annexation happens, it will make diplomatic talks with Vladimir Putin impossible. They need artillery in Ukraine, he says, more air defense systems and tanks. Will they get it? And how significant of an escalation is this?

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