Matlacha sits on the causeway islands in Matlacha Pass, a few hundred residents in brightly painted cottages, galleries and seafood places. It is the gateway to Pine Island and it was largely devastated by Ian in 2022, when the road washed out and the island beyond was cut off entirely.
The recovery has been long. The Little Pine Island Bridge was fully replaced and reopened in March 2026, timed with the village hundredth anniversary, and the community centre and art building reopened the month before. Roofing here is mostly small, older, low-slope cottage stock in a place where everything is surrounded by salt water.