Hurricane Milton left its mark on Captiva in a lot of different ways. You can now enter the island, but expect to be greeted by mounds of sand on the side of the road.
According to Captiva Fire, the Lee County Department of Transportation will need to repair Captiva Road in the area of Captiva Shores and Jensen's on the Gulf, as well as the area of Wiles Drive.
Both sections of the road are restricted to one lane right now. South Seas Island Resort is also working diligently to clear the roads throughout the resort.
Sand has buried the parking lot of the Mucky Duck Restaurant. We're told the front of the building sustained more wind and storm surge than it did during Hurricane Ian. We reached out to the owner. He told us they are planning to repair and reopen as soon as they can.
“My heart goes out to them. I mean, they're like a legend on the island, you know? Everybody knows Mucky Duck," said Green Flash restaurant owner Michael Miller. "They're great competition. They're good friends. It stinks. It really stinks for them."
Miller's restaurant sustained minor damage during Helene and Milton. He was able to reopen his doors as soon as Saturday.
"It was crazy. Helene was 150 miles off coast and we still got 2.5 feet of water downstairs. Our docks got messed up. Took two days to clean up. Then, a week later, Milton comes and does the same exact thing. We got a couple of shingles off the roof, but not major structural damage," said Miller.
"As they say, every storm is a bit different," said Jungle Drums Gallery owner Jim Mazzotta. Milton filled his parking lot with sand but did not damage his gallery. He says they will reopen in time for the season. He just hopes the customers will be there, too.
"The economy here is going to be, be impacted for quite some time, I think, going forward,” said Mazzotta. "I hope that people keep coming back. I think a lot of the condos here are probably good enough shape to rent this winter. I know after Ian, we had a big boom after. People came in, and it was a good winter. So I'm hoping the same thing will happen.”