Residents and workers walked and waded around downtown Fort Myers on Wednesday, assessing damage and checking which local businesses had reopened after Hurricane Idalia passed through.
Some had to turn around and avoid flooded streets. Flooding that caused the northbound lanes of the Edison Bridge to close, with parts of downtown restricted, traffic cones dotting intersections and officers redirecting traffic.
Fort Myers police department announced that the northbound lanes of the Edison Bridge would remain temporarily closed as flooding covered First Street and Park Avenue. Patches of flooding, some 2 inches deep or more, covered various parts of First Street and the surrounding neighborhoods.
The off-ramp from the Caloosahatchee bridge closed from flooding on West First Street.
A few residents, however, took a morning stroll around the water or rode through on their bikes.
Nicole Fous, a downtown Fort Myers resident and artist, took her dog out for a walk while looking for pieces of palm frond to use for hurricane-inspired art.
“It’s a nice beautiful morning with the wind,” Fous said.
Fous has lived in Fort Myers since she was 15 and experienced massive hurricanes such as Charley in 2004 and Irma in 2022.
At 3 a.m., she was woken up by the sounds of wind, gusts, and waves.
“That lasted a couple of hours, then it dissipated gently, but it left us with the whole First Street flooded,” Fous said.
She was accompanied by her black dog who loves to swim and play in the water.
‘We’re looking for some cool finds that you might see on an Art Walk one of these days,” Fous said.
Though inconvenient for many, Fous said the weather provided a nice, cool breeze after a long hot summer.
“I decided to come back outside because I was like, it’s hotter in here than it is outside, so I took advantage of it,” Fous said.
Businesses begin to reopen in downtown Fort Myers as flooding clears
In downtown Fort Myers, for the most part, chain restaurants reopened Wednesday morning.
Along First Street, the Starbucks and Ford’s Garage eateries had reopene. An employee at the coffee shop declined to speak on the record, citing corporate policy, but added they opened 9 a.m. Wednesday as opposed to their typical 6 a.m. opening time.
Patrons sat at three Starbucks’ tables around 10 a.m.
Others walked down the quiet downtown streets, assessing which businesses had reopened.
Local restaurants such as Capone’s Coal Fired Pizza, 2225 First St., and Oasis Restaurant, 2260 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., remained closed Wednesday morning. Oasis said it had no phone lines or way to process credit cards in a Facebook post.
Flooding along First Street in downtown Fort Myers resulted in roadblocks at Cleveland Avenue and Monroe Street.
Around 11 a.m., a rising tide was seen beginning to surpass the Fort Myers Yacht Basin, 1300 Lee St.
Jose Garcia, of Lehigh Acres, was helping out clearing the area around downtown restaurants and said the roads were clear during his 30-minute commute.
“There wasn’t any damage,” Garcia said. “There wasn’t any traffic, at least today.”
Garcia said he had worked until 3 p.m. Tuesday, when he added the effects of the storm weren’t yet palpable.
“We have to come together and help each other out,” Garcia said.
