iStockphoto / Mikhail Mironov / baileystock
The damage suffered by Siesta Key due to storm surge from Hurricane Helene is unlike anything ever seen in this area in modern times. Case in point, a home valued at around $6 million on Siesta Key burned down after storm surge (saltwater) entered the home’s garage and their Tesla Model X Plaid caught fire and took the entire home down with it.
My family moved to Siesta Key in the 1950s and I was born and raised in this exact area. Truly, we could walk down this street and around the area and I could give you a rundown of which businesses were built when, what’s new, what is ‘old Siesta Key,’ and so on and so forth. And I’m telling you I have never seen anything in this area quite like the damage from Hurricane Helene on Siesta Key.
This Hurricane Helene Tesla fire was caught on the family’s Nest home camera. Sadly, this was preventable and could have been avoided as Siesta Key locals were (1) under mandatory evacuation and (2) made aware that Teslas could catch fire from saltwater storm surge.
While the car was not plugged in the saltwater storm surge estimated at between 6 to 8 inches at the time of the fire was still enough to trigger the massive blaze on Peacock Road near the South Bridge (Stickney Pt.) on Siesta Key in Sarasota. According to Zillow, the home was valued at $5.962 million with a range of $5.25M – $6.80M and it was last sold in 2021 for around $4,45 million. That’s an increase in value of $1.512 in under 3 years up until this Tesla fire from Hurricane Helene. Just unreal.
A fellow local took this video from across the intracoastal/bay from the mainland side where they could see the Tesla fire triggered by Hurricane Helene storm surge raging:
Siesta Key, my BF filmed this from her house on the bay. Island was evacuated and county wanted all EV‘s off island but these owners were out of town and the Tesla was in the garage. #Hurricane #hurricanehelene pic.twitter.com/xabOxhluSf
— Meidas_Alex&SophieCorgi (@Meidas_AlexS) September 27, 2024
Local news outlets reported that at the time of the fire there were 9 people in the 5,271 sqft house. Everyone made it out of the home safely but first responders / Sarasota Fire Department were unable to extinguish the flames because water to Siesta Key had been shut off at this point in the storm due to the flooding and water wouldn’t be restored until days later. Frankly, everyone on that street is lucky the flames didn’t spread.
Not for nothing, a 2023 Tesla Model X Plaid starts at $94,990. That car was obviously lost to the flames as was everything in the home at the time.
And to harken back to what I said above, this Tesla fire is just one instance of loss on Siesta Key caused by Hurricane Helene. The number of stories I’ve heard from people in my life who were directly impacted is unlike any storm I can remember.
I personally dealt with life-altering damage from Hurricane Ian but we were fortunate to make it through Hurricane Helene unscathed because it was the storm surge on Siesta Key and the other barrier islands that caused the most damage this time around. With most hurricanes in our area, the damage comes from wind, flooding, and even tornadoes. But for the storm surge to basically impact all of Siesta Key, Casey Key, Bird Key, Longboat Key, and every other barrier island in this part of Southwest Florida is unprecedented.
The one silver lining in all of this is Hurricane Helene reopened Midnight Pass on South Siesta Key which had been closed for over 40 years.