Hurricane Ian: Cape Coral, LCEC officials target to have 95% power restoration by Saturday

City of Cape Coral and Lee County Electric Cooperative officials said they expect 95% of customers to have power back by Saturday during a press conference Sunday.

Melissa Mickey, communications manager for Cape Coral, said LCEC restored power to about 5,000 residents — about 5%.

"We're gonna see progress more quickly now from here," said Denise Vidal, chief executive officer at LCEC. "Importantly, the hospital's been energized as you know."

Vidal said they're good with materials.

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Power restoration: Hurricane Ian: Cape Coral working to restore power, electricity

"We're making great progress, and we're in this together," Vidal said. "It's Team Florida ... Team Cape Coral."

Mayor John Gunter said the city council is working together with the LCEC and Florida Power & Light.

"I just want the community to know that we're working extremely hard," Gunter said.

Mickey suggests using flashlights rather than candles when possible.

"If you must use candles, don't leave them lit in an unattended room," Mickey said.

The city is providing power strips to help people seeking to charge devices who aren't able to do so.

"At the top of everyone's minds at this time is water and power," Mickey said. "We've realized that. It's at the top of our minds, too."

City crews continue to work around the clock to restore water, Mickey said. City officials are asking residents to conserve water and to remember to use bottled water to brush their teeth and drink due to a precautionary water-boil notice.

"There isn't necessarily something wrong with the water," Mickey said. "It's a precaution, again, because we've had low pressure for a period of time. And that's something we would always do."

Mickey is also asking residents to remove storm shutters.

"They create a safety risk for yourself," Mickey said. "If something was going on in the house, we can't necessarily ... Emergency crews can't get access to you ... You can't easily get out."

Gunter commended staff and first responders.

Gunter said nearly 100 police officers have responded to the city. Further, he discussed priorities for the city.

"Our city, as far as water, is 75% energized," Gunter said. "Our goal is to be 100% here in the very near future. I'm hoping by tomorrow sometime."

Trash collection

"Basically there's three piles of cleanup," Gunter said, "You have your vegetation pile, you have your construction debris, and appliances. Those three piles must be separated in your front yard."

Gunter said they started Sunday picking up that debris throughout the city.

"If we come out tomorrow and pick up debris, that doesn't mean it's a one and done," Gunter said. "We will be out there for the next several weeks repeatedly."

Gunter says he hopes to have a schedule soon on the city's website, capecoral.gov.

"Household chemicals, please do not place them to the curb," Gunter said. "It's vegetation, construction debris and appliances only."

Waste Pro resumed service in the city Sunday for routine trash pickup.

"If the trash trucks cannot get down your street because of low-line powerlines or trees, we will try to make other means available so we can get that trash picked up," Gunter said. "Leave it out there, they will still be coming."

Waste Pro won't collect recycle and horticulture pickup yet, Gunter said.

"We're doing whatever we can," Gunter said. "We have the resources coming in each and every day. Honestly, we're running out of places to put our individuals as far as housing."

Gunter said they have thousands helping.

"We're going to have to make sure that we have places for those individuals," Gunter said. "So if by chance we have any of our local hotel ownerships that happen to be watching, please reach out to us."

Gunter reiterated they're in dire need of facilities.

"As you can tell, all of us in this room, all of city staff, you know, we're here to rebuild our city," Gunter said.

Gunter reiterated they're working to reach a level of normalcy in the city.

"We need to come together as a community," Gunter said.

City council members present

Several city council members spoke Sunday.

District 1 Councilmember Gloria Tate, whose home also took a hit from the hurricane, thanked first responders and city leaders, among others.

"They're doing an amazing job," Tate said. "District 1 was hit really hard ... The Gold Coast all the way through the Yacht Club. We took the brunt of the storm."

Tate asked realtors to help those that have been displaced stemming from the hurricane.

"If you are a realtor, and you have sold a home and it's a second home or if you have a seasonal home that isn't being used, please contact us," Tate said. "You can contact me directly 239-851-6324. We know there are a lot of empty homes."

Tate has been in Cape Coral since 1960 when Hurricane Donna and says she's confident the city will strive.

"We built this city from scratch and we will do it again," Tate said.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and TikTok @tomasfrodriguez.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral officials discuss next steps following hurricane devastation