As I write this, The Forest is recovering from Hurricane Milton. It’s been quite a month, with Milton being the second hurricane to hit Florida (Helene being the first). We managed to avoid the brunt of both storms, although The Forest received the second and third highest storm surges in 60 years. We were quite fortunate that our community suffered no significant damage to our homes, although the surge created quite a bit of debris.
The way our three canals work is worth an explanation. Storm surge which is generated from the Gulf of Mexico works its way east through Fort Myers Beach, through the creeks west of us, namely Mullet and Hendry. The canals work in two ways: normally, during a rain event they expedite the flow of water from The Forest (which is a watershed) to the creeks. In times of surge, they work in the opposite direction. Thus, the last two hurricanes created significant surge which flooded The Forest.
When flooding occurs, we tend to lose power. FP&L is working to restore reliable power and has a gargantuan task throughout the state due to the epic nature of the back-to-back hurricanes. Crews from all over the country have come to assist in the restoration process and are providing urgent services.
Hotwire, which is provided to all the homes and some condo associations, went down during Milton due to a distribution box outside Jonathan’s Bay which needed to be repaired. Service was restored in 40 hours, which was significantly better than our experience during Ian.
The Forest has survived two hurricanes in three weeks. It will continue to be one of the best places to live anywhere.
Stay well,
Paul Ben-Susan, Vice President
Chuck Patten, President
Forest Property Owners
Association
Board of Directors
