What happened was that large wholesale warehouses were thrown into the swamp by the hurricane. In the process of these huge buildings being torn apart, large numbers of their inhabitants were released into the swamp as well.
The releases were not deliberate, and the owners of the warehouses were not permitted to return to the area until it was too late to have a hope of finding anything. Miami had more important things to worry about than trying to round up escaped imported wildlife--such as clearing roads and unsafe structures, and getting people back into their homes. It's impossible to say whether a little bit of attention to those warehouses would have prevented all of this, or if the animals dispersed fairly quickly.

The reason this is important is because the 'release by irresponsible owners' theory is part of what's being used to shut down the reptile trade. The evidence that it isn't true, at least not for the Burmese, means that our hobby is less of a threat to the environment than is being stated. We need to keep hammering this point home.

You're correct that the "9" with the exception of Argentine boas have shown that they will not avoid killing cold temperatures. It was VPI who experimented with indoor/outdoor cages and discovered this. Many other herpers have observed that tropical pythons will not avoid extreme cold, and will select an icy hiding place if it looks like it's more secure than a warm one. They will continue to go out into the cold of night. They may still seek warmth, but often only mild warmth, and only for some periods of time, rather than continually.

The danger of the 9 has been exaggerated. You don't need to take a class to buy a horse--why should you need to take a class to buy a Burm? Horses are far more dangerous than Burmese pythons.
Please, put this into perspective.