DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Florida's governor on Friday said more than 99% of the state's residents have their power back after Hurricane Ian hammered the peninsula last week.
Speaking in Daytona Beach, Gov. Ron DeSantis said only parts of Lee County are still powerless, including Sanibel Island and Fort Myers Beach, which will both require complete rebuilds of their electrical infrastructure.
"They're 100% in almost every part of the state," DeSantis said. "There's a couple pockets that the electrical co-op in Lee County are still working on."
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On Sanibel Island, where the only causeway on and off the island was destroyed by the Category 4 hurricane, utility crews are being flown in on Chinook helicopters and ferried in on barges to work on the electrical restoration.
"Except for some pockets of Lee County, people are gonna have power unless their home was damaged and they can't receive power, or unless you have a total restoration of the system, unfortunately like we have in a couple places, particularly these barrier islands," DeSantis said.
Calling it a "Herculean effort," DeSantis said first responders have performed almost 2,500 rescues since the storm hit.
