SC Staff Report
The City of Sanibel declared a state of local emergency Tuesday, Sept. 24, in preparation for Hurricane Helene to pass by the island on Thursday. Residents and business are preparing for the storm as the island remains under a hurricane watch with a potential storm surge of 3 to 5 feet. Inclement weather is anticipated to begin Wednesday night and continue throughout Thursday.
Currently, there are no evacuation orders in place for Lee County, which includes Sanibel and Captiva Islands, but the county has opened two Safe Havens locations for those who do not feel safe in their home and have nowhere safe to stay. The Safe Havens will remain open Thursday as the county monitors weather conditions. They are located at the North Fort Myers Recreation Center, 2000 N. Recreation Park Way, and Estero Recreation Center, 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd.
The county has also established a landing page dedicated to Helene for residents, businesses and organizations to quickly check updates on county operations related to the storm.
The following closures on Sanibel have been announced as of Wednesday, Sept. 25:
| City Offices | Closed Thursday |
| Sanibel Recreation Center | Closed Thursday |
| Trash Pickup | None Thursday/Delayed by 1 Day |
| SCCF Facilities | Closed Thursday |
| SCCF Native Landscape | Closed Thursday, Friday |
| Sanibel Sea School | Closed Thursday, Friday |
| Sanibel Captiva Community Bank (All Offices) | Closed Thursday |
| J.N. 'Ding' Darling NWR | Closed Until Further Notice |
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