Clay County Times

As Hurricane Ian trekked its way northeast out of Florida, dozens of wheels crunched on the gravel outside the Clay County Emergency Operations Center as the sun rose, headed south. Local public safety officials had spent the last week preparing for and responding to Ian in their home county. Once everything was under control in Clay, dozens of first responders jumped in their vehicles and headed out to help perfect strangers in a county unfamiliar to them – because that’s what they do.  

Clay County Fire Rescue, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and Clay County Emergency Management officials joined hundreds of other first responders from across the state to respond to southwest Florida. It was an all-hands-on-deck situation in an unrecognizable storm-ravished area that lent itself to a healthy respect for what Mother Nature can do.  

Homes that once stood bright and colorful were reduced to piles of broken wood. An antique car, likely once prized, sat waterlogged with broken windows, its quintessential tag denoting it as an item from a past era still in place. Docks were gone. Roads were underwater. A boat was left Noah’s Ark-style on pilings from a dock that no longer had a place to stand.  

“Being down here is shocking,” CCFR Captain Billy Futch said.  

The amount of destruction Hurricane Ian left in its wake paled compared to the devastation the storm wreaked on the people who call the area home. Officials estimate more than 100 people died. That’s more than any other hurricane had caused in Florida since FDR was President.  

“I’ve been on a lot of Hurricane deployments and this bar none is one of the worst,” Captain Futch said.  

CCFR responders provided coverage for the fire stations in North Fort Myers which gave those responders some help in the massive undertaking they were facing. CCFR responders ran calls for service and helped with the critical rescue operations needed to search for trapped victims.  

“We’re seeing everything from your basic EMS stuff like cuts and bruises, sprains and strains, to heat exhaustion,” CCFR Chief JD Vigue said. They also delivered water – a commodity that, during any other time is expected, but now, is lifesaving.  

“They’re going through a lot, so we’re doing whatever they need here,” Vigue said. 

CCFR and Clay County Emergency Management officials weren’t the only responders to head south. Eighteen deputies who filled various roles in the CCSO suited up and responded to Lee County, working tirelessly to support the Lee County Sheriff's Office and its community affected by Ian. 

“Our guys met countless residents who were so thankful for us being there to help,” said Lieutenant Glenn Wood.   

The deputies helped with patrol functions. Other trained staff helped local dispatchers, answering 911 calls and other calls for service. “We saw a community that did not waver in its ability to overcome and rebuild,” Wood remembered.   

Another round of responders from Clay County deployed days afterward to augment CCFR’s response. Five incident management teams with some of Clay County’s Emergency Management officials followed suit. Their mission was to provide logistical support to the local emergency operations centers in southwest Florida.  

The first team of four deployed on October 4th to the mainland port in Fort Meyers to coordinate barge logistics and bring needed supplies to communities on islands that were cut off from the mainland after the Sanibel Causeway collapsed. The second team deployed to Boca Grande on October 5th to help restructure the government and get the logistics in place to begin reconstruction. Four single resources with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office Incident ManagementTeam were also deployed to help at the State Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.  

On October 8th, a 16-person Incident Management Team, including Emergency Management Director John Ward, deployed to Cape Coral for a 14-day assignment to help manage the Emergency Operations Center there and relieve the local Emergency Operations personnel who have been working non-stop since Hurricane Ian ravaged the area. Two teams also deployed for consecutive missions to Fort Meyers Beach to help with the recovery efforts.  

Since then, the response from Clay County responders and officials hasn’t stopped.  

As Floridians, it’s not a matter of if a storm will hit, but a matter of when. What’s unknown is where. After a storm though, no matter how devastating it can be, there’s a certainty - the concrete knowledge that responders from across the state will leave their homes to help – because that’s what they do.  

“This is why we serve in this profession,” Wood said, “The residents we saw in such need after Ian inspired us to be our best.” 

Original source can be found here.