Chief Mickuleit surveys damage on island
Chief Ben Mickuleit of the Matlacha/Pine Island Fire Control District was out and about Wednesday surveys the island for possible damage and flooding.
“I drove most of the island,” said Mickuleit Wednesday. “We’ve got quite a few isolated areas of flooding. There weren’t any other road blockages from power lines or trees.”
He also inspected the area where at least two boats broke free of their moorings in Matlacha, with one pushed by waves and rising water into the Matlacha Bridge.
“So we had two sailboats that broke anchor and were blown into the bridge,” Mickuleit said. “One was able to be secured to a dock at the (Bridgewater) inn. The other, as you can see in the photos, wasn’t able to be secured and is still lodged next to the bridge. I called Red Cross and they were able to assist the owner since he lived aboard.”
H went on to report, “We had PI units, LCSO (Lee County Sheriff’s Office), LCEMS (Lee County Emergency Medical Services) and a few other local agencies. We had to temporarily shut the bridge down earlier in the afternoon because of the boats hitting the bridge plus a strong band with high winds. All roads are clear right now.”