Grand Isle took a huge hit from Hurricane Zeta when it made landfall.
Grand Isle mayor David Camardelle says the storm passed just west of Grand Isle putting the island on the eastern side of the storm’s eye wall.
“That is when the tornado hit in the heart of town and peeled a couple of roofs off of motels and summer homes and power lines started falling,” Camardellle told WWL First News.
A widespread power outage is a problem Camardelle says, that is proving to be a difficult one to fix given the number of utility poles down and a transmission line down in a remote area of the marsh.
“We got about 70% of the island out. The concern we really have right now is the transmission line coming across the marsh,” said Camardelle.
There are two primary lines serving Grand Isle. One of those transmission lines runs through the marsh which has ten structures that need to be replaced according to Entergy. The second transmission line has over 50 poles down and requires marsh equipment and airboats to access and repair. Entergy says they expect Grand Isle customers will have power restored late sometime next week.