Yucatan, the iconic totem and selfie photograph destination on Fort Myers Beach in front of the Yucatan Beach Stand Bar & Grill, left Estero Island for San Carlos Island sometime during Hurricane Ian.

Propelled by the storm’s 155-mile-an-hour winds and at least an estimated 15 feet of storm surge, the wood-looking totem finally settled in front of the concrete block Diversified Yacht Services storage facility – on the other side of Matanzas Pass, at least 2,000 feet away. It was flanked by dozens of foam squares that were part of the Margaritaville Resort construction site. Those also traveled across the bay before coming to a rest.

At that Diversified Yacht Services building, managers Sid Cobert and Michael Grubb had grim looks on their faces as they surveyed their property for the first time Friday, two days after Hurricane Ian pummeled Southwest Florida, all day Wednesday.

“We’re (expletive),” Grubb said.

“It’s well over $2 million worth of damage,” Cobert said. “We lost a lot of boats. We’ve only been here an hour and a half. It’s bad. It’s going to take a long time.”

About 25 yachts that were parked outside of the yacht garage were lost somewhere in Matanzas Bay, and about 10 to 15 more boats were newly on the property, having arrived there, uninvited, from the storm surge.

As they took in their first glimpses of the wreckage, Maggie Hagar and her two sons, T.J., 11, and Jackson, 8, were around the corner on the south side of the building. They were picking up new shoes of various sizes and other items. These used to be inside of a Times Square gift shop, one that Hurricane Ian destroyed and then sent the products off to destinations unknown as well as around the Diversified Yacht building.

“The kids can’t really do anything right now,” Hagar said. “So they’re gathering shoes, and then we’ll try to find matches for people who need them.”

Hagar’s family owns RAL Resort and Property Management, which oversees the Estero Island Beach Club, next door to Diamondhead. She said Ian destroyed about half of that resort.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office closed access to Estero Island, restricting it to residents and business owners only.

The Lee County government is encouraging citizens to stay off the roads as much as possible. Stranded residents on Fort Myers Beach are encouraged to walk to Publix or 7-Eleven stores on Estero Island. Urban search and rescue responders will be at those sites to assist in evacuation.

National, international and regional media organizations – and Gulfshore Business – were denied access to the island. Satellite trucks set up operations about half a mile north of the bridge, where there were plenty of signs of devastation to broadcast.

Boats and yachts littered the east side of the main road to the beach. Some of them had come to rest on top of cars and SUVs.

“It’s going to take years to come back from this,” Hagar said. “Years.”

Words made it difficult to describe the scope of the damage, Hagar said.

Ron Gardenhire, the former manager of the Minnesota Twins, evacuated his Fort Myers Beach home about 12 hours before Hurricane Ian arrived. He and his wife drove to Okeechobee, where they endured 60-mile-an-hour winds while in friend and former Twins assistant coach Steve Liddle’s RV.

“It was bad, but it was nothing like this,” Gardenhire said after returning home.

Gardenhire reported extensive damage to his home and vehicles upon returning. He said he was glad he didn’t have to witness the carnage.

At the nearby Doc Ford’s restaurant on the southern tip of San Carlos Island, a mattress and an assortment of debris had come to a stop on the wooden walkway to enter the closed restaurant, which had extensive damage to the wooden docks on the east side.

Pincher’s crab shack, located about a half mile to the north, fared much better.

Henry Goldrick, the general manager at that Pincher’s, cleaned up some of the mess, which included a water and mud-caked floor, which is elevated about five feet above ground level – otherwise, it would have been far worse.

“Right now, we’re just trying to ride the wave in here,” Goldrick said. “If we can get a team in here fast enough, we could be one of the first ones to reopen.”