Nearly 3 months after Charley the island is starting to settle back into normal. Most of the lingering roadside debris piles are removed. The major condo interior piles and other gutted structure debris have stopped coming out to the roadside.
About 2 weeks ago a new surge in vegetative debris started because the town went to a final phase on the australian pine removal. One night I was riding by the sanctuary and saw a giant pile of glowing embers. I went in to check it out and found a 120 meter by 5 meter high pile of burning trees and other vegetation. The reason this new wave of materials showed up is because the town went and removed leaning pines or possibly damaged ones. Lighthouse Point, for example, lost about 50% of its pines. The town decided to go in and take out the remainder. Also, the main street, Periwinkle Road, had it's remaining pines removed as well as their large 5-6 foot thick trunks and root-balls.
Many houses look just like they did the day after Charley. The average roof has some spanish tile punched through and broken in spots, or along a ridgeline. Thank God we are way under average in rainfall since Charley or those little broken spots would leak enough to cause damage. Many of the houses in question have winter occupants who aren't here to help speed up the repairs. Sanibel is difficult to get fast repairs for because we are 10 miles out in the Gulf.
Because of Charley's fast forward speed we suffered very little beach erosion and the beaches are fine. A few strange aspects of the post hurricane Gulf were unusually clear water up by Captiva and large fish runs near shore with schools of minnows.
Many property owners are opting to remove all of their australian pines and go to bare earth and a new start. There's one particular condo colony that used to be hidden in a large grove of pines that is now completely open with all the pines removed. The owner went and got truckloads of the free mulch the town offers from the hurricane debris and covered the property with them. (they turned the removed trees into mulch)
A moonlight walk at night now enjoys an open bright sky instead of moon shadows through the pines.
If you came to visit Sanibel now you might think the tree damage reports were exaggerated because the damaged trees are gone. Also, growth rates are so fast down here that the broken trees left with only trunks and fat arms and no small limbs have "furred" out in leaf growth along their limbs. In three years you will hardly be able to tell...
Charley Progress - Sanibel Island
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Aquawind
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No doubt the vegetation will recover quickly. We took a boat and went around both sides of the islands and saw many a blue tarps yet. Massive trees tipped all over the place. Until just recently they have finally gotten Ft Myers beach cleared from the 20' piles of debris. I think mother nature will be recover well before the people. It has been a slow process..Good thing dry season is in full swing.. Although it sounds prime for some telescope viewing alrighty..
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/07/charle ... index.html
Looks like the Florida utilities will be raising our rates as well..but thats another thread..
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/11/07/charle ... index.html
Looks like the Florida utilities will be raising our rates as well..but thats another thread..
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jlauderdal
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Re: Charley Progress - Sanibel Island
Sanibel wrote:Nearly 3 months after Charley the island is starting to settle back into normal. Most of the lingering roadside debris piles are removed. The major condo interior piles and other gutted structure debris have stopped coming out to the roadside.
About 2 weeks ago a new surge in vegetative debris started because the town went to a final phase on the australian pine removal. One night I was riding by the sanctuary and saw a giant pile of glowing embers. I went in to check it out and found a 120 meter by 5 meter high pile of burning trees and other vegetation. The reason this new wave of materials showed up is because the town went and removed leaning pines or possibly damaged ones. Lighthouse Point, for example, lost about 50% of its pines. The town decided to go in and take out the remainder. Also, the main street, Periwinkle Road, had it's remaining pines removed as well as their large 5-6 foot thick trunks and root-balls.
Many houses look just like they did the day after Charley. The average roof has some spanish tile punched through and broken in spots, or along a ridgeline. Thank God we are way under average in rainfall since Charley or those little broken spots would leak enough to cause damage. Many of the houses in question have winter occupants who aren't here to help speed up the repairs. Sanibel is difficult to get fast repairs for because we are 10 miles out in the Gulf.
Because of Charley's fast forward speed we suffered very little beach erosion and the beaches are fine. A few strange aspects of the post hurricane Gulf were unusually clear water up by Captiva and large fish runs near shore with schools of minnows.
Many property owners are opting to remove all of their australian pines and go to bare earth and a new start. There's one particular condo colony that used to be hidden in a large grove of pines that is now completely open with all the pines removed. The owner went and got truckloads of the free mulch the town offers from the hurricane debris and covered the property with them. (they turned the removed trees into mulch)
A moonlight walk at night now enjoys an open bright sky instead of moon shadows through the pines.
If you came to visit Sanibel now you might think the tree damage reports were exaggerated because the damaged trees are gone. Also, growth rates are so fast down here that the broken trees left with only trunks and fat arms and no small limbs have "furred" out in leaf growth along their limbs. In three years you will hardly be able to tell...
i was on sanibel and capitiva a month ago and if anyone thinks the reports are overdone pop me an email at jfaul@bellsouth.net and i will send you some pics of the damage.
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Well it depends where you are. It is true the causeway is 3 miles long and San Carlos Bay is 3-4 miles wide too, but there are parts of Sanibel that are over 10 miles from the mainland. We are around 6-7 miles out into the Gulf here.
You could see the difference in the damage pattern. It can be lightly breezy here at the house when at the same time a steady 15 knot wind is blowing at the beach...
You could see the difference in the damage pattern. It can be lightly breezy here at the house when at the same time a steady 15 knot wind is blowing at the beach...
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