FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — Mattresses in mangroves— that’s the situation some are dealing with after Hurricane Ian.
A situation now having some demanding answers, as the issue could have lasting implications on the beach’s environment.
It's a view that has been haunting Fort Myers Beach residents for too long.
"There's a shell of a place," said Ruth Rutledge, who lives on the beach. "It's all emptied out and we inherited it all. Our building pretty much inherited it.”
An unwanted inheritance of debris courtesy of Hurricane Ian, resting behind these condominiums.
"It just eddied and swirled," she said. "It took cars, it took everything from the Wyndham and we know it's the Wyndham's stuff because we recognize all of it.”
Rutledge is one of the condos residents. A proud snowbird from Pennsylvania, she says she's called the hotel numerous times about the debris. But there's been no response.
“I would think that they want to check in and help out with some of the debris clean up," she says. "They have an enormous amount of debris. We're a small building and it's a lot for people to absorb on their own.”
But it's not just the fact that this debris is still laying here. It's what it's on that is causing some growing concern.
"Getting stuff out of the mangroves is going to be a long term project, I think,” said Ed Corea, who also lives in the condos.
That's right— mangroves. Now home to mattresses and other forms of rubble. Ed Corea recounts the aftermath of Ian.
“Their toilets, all of their furniture, mattresses, the whole bar came over here,” he says, talking about the Wyndham.
Amidst all of the ruin, though, there is one glimmer of hope on the horizon.
"The guy came the other day— the contractor, actually, came— and said it won't be until the new year. So at least we know we're going to get it out of here. But it's going to be another couple of weeks.”
A couple of weeks that could not come soon enough.
