Editing Lee County, Florida (section)

===Modern growth (1940s–present)===
{{expand section|date=December 2017}}
During [[World War II]], Page Field served as an advanced fighter training base and home to the several bomber groups. Following the war, a small terminal was built in the mid-1950s as the airport transitioned to commercial use.<ref>{{cite web |author=Southwest Florida Historical Society |title=The Page Story |url=https://flylcpa.com/fmystory/ |publisher=Lee County Port Authority |access-date=April 20, 2022}}</ref> Another airfield was constructed in 1942 called [[Buckingham Army Airfield]]. The base was closed down in 1945, after which the barracks served as classrooms for Edison College until 1948.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Buckingham Airfield |url=https://lcmcd.com/fl59-airport-area-info/history-of-the-buckingham-airfield/ |publisher=Lee County Mosquito Control District |access-date=April 20, 2022}}</ref> Following the end of World War II, the Royal Palm Hotel was closed permanently, and in 1947, the hotel on the corner of First and Fowler was torn down.<ref name="news-press.com"/>

Lee County has been the host to several [[Major League Baseball]] teams for [[spring training]] over the past several decades.

The county received a boost in 1983 when Southwest Florida Regional Airport (now known as [[Southwest Florida International Airport]]) opened.<ref name=lylcpa>{{cite web|url=http://www.flylcpa.com/uploads/pagesfiles/2001.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615095500/http://flylcpa.com/uploads/pagesfiles/2001.pdf |title=SOUTHWEST FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (RSW) TOTAL PASSENGERS |archive-date=June 15, 2016}}</ref>

====Hurricanes====
On August 13, 2004, the county was struck by [[Hurricane Charley]], a [[Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale#Category 4|category 4]] storm, particularly on the northwestern islands of [[Captiva Island|Captiva]], [[Boca Grande, FL|Gasparilla]], and [[North Captiva]]. On September 10, 2017, Lee County was struck by [[Hurricane Irma]] as a [[Saffir–Simpson scale|category 2]] storm. On September 28, 2022, [[Hurricane Ian]] made landfall on Lee County as a [[Category 4 hurricane|category 4]] storm, causing major damage to [[Sanibel, Florida|Sanibel]], [[Pine Island (Lee County, Florida)|Pine Island]], and surrounding areas. [[Sanibel Causeway]] partially collapsed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Andone |first=Paul P. Murphy,Rebekah Riess,Dakin |date=September 29, 2022 |title=Sanibel and Captiva islands cut off from Florida mainland after Ian's 'biblical' storm surge washes away three parts of Sanibel Causeway |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/us/sanibel-causeway-bridge-florida-hurricane-ian/index.html |access-date=September 29, 2022 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> 71 deaths occurred in Lee County as of October 4.<ref name="FL 105 deaths">{{cite news |last=Seaver |first=Matthew |date=March 23, 2023 |title=Remembering the people taken by Hurricane Ian. |url=https://winknews.com/2023/03/28/remembering-the-people-taken-by-hurricane-ian/ |accessdate=March 23, 2023 |work=Wink News |publisher=McBride Family |language=English}}</ref>