LEE COUNTY, Fla. — Lee County Commissioners said they want FEMA to work faster to help people whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Ian. But FEMA said there is a reason why they have not approved trailer requests. Although the debris might be picked up off the curb for many, residents are still trying to pick up the pieces of what Hurricane Ian left behind. “I’m shocked to learn that 66 days after landfall, FEMA hasn’t placed a single trailer, and they only have 11 trailers in processing to help the more than 12,000 residents who have applied for housing,” Commissioner and Chairman Brian Hamman said. Hamman said he was disappointed to hear this from FEMA at their workshop Tuesday. When he knows many residents are hoping for FEMA trailer approvals to be placed outside their homes while they rebuild. “But instead, FEMA has said we are not going to put FEMA trailers in a flood zone… We’re not going to help flood victims because they live in a flood zone,” he said. FEMA said they cannot add trailers here along the river at the Lochmoor Waterway Estates because it is in a flood zone. “You’ve got a lot of people in this county that died from this storm,” FEMA Branch Six Division Supervisor Bob Fogel said. “We will not be responsible as the federal government for putting people in a location where they are likely to have future potential risks.” FEMA’s rules do not allow for their trailers to be put in flood zones. But 33% of Lee County is in a flood plain. “Most of Fort Myers Beach is in a floodplain,” Fogel said. That is why Hamman wants to find a solution. “I called our congressmen right after the meeting. I’m going to continue to call as many federal officials as I can,” Hamman said. “I’ve even tweeted at President Biden immediately after the meeting to let him know what the status is.” Michael Wade with FEMA told ABC7 their hands are tied by the state and federal government. “It is entirely up to the state and the local authorities to do what they think is necessary to help their citizens,” Wade said. Although Hamman said the board would consider removing any ordinances standing in FEMA’s way. “But whatever they do can not only affect Lee County particularly when it comes to flood plain management, it can actually affect the people that can currently afford flood insurance,” Wade said. Although what Lee County and FEMA both agree to is finding out-of-the-box and creative ways to aid hurricane survivors. “If those aren’t available, then our last resort is to build a community site somewhere in the county and then move approved applicants into that community site,” Wade said. Although now flooding might not be an issue, these trailers would be on properties for longer than six months, which is when hurricane season starts up again.