First look at Grand Isle after Hurricane Ida shows extensive damage in community

Grand Isle, a community of about 1,400 permanent residents, was one of the first southern Louisiana towns to feel Hurricane Ida's impact when the Category 4 storm made landfall late Sunday morning.

Advertiser photographer Scott Clause was among the first journalists to return to Grand Isle on Monday, where he made these photos. 

LIVE UPDATES:Get the latest news on Louisiana's recovery from Hurricane Ida

La. 1, the only road to and from the port and the island, was open Saturday but routinely floods during storms and high tides. The South Lafourche Levee District closed a floodgate that crosses La. 1 at the Leon Theriot Lock in Golden Meadow at 6 p.m. Saturday in conjunction with a parish curfew.

GRAND ISLE:Louisianan rides out Hurricane Ida in Grand Isle aboard barge

As Hurricane Ida raged, Grand Isle Police Chief Scooter Resweber said the roof of the police station was imperiled on the barrier island.

"We're still in the middle of this thing," Resweber said. "The lower floor and all of the police cars are flooded."

GRAND ISLE:Family rode out Hurricane Ida taking shelter in mattress 'fort' in Galliano hotel

On Monday afternoon, Grand Isle was littered with boats that had been tossed about like toys. 

And infrastructure damage that offered a sense of the long road to recovery that lay ahead.

IDA IMPACT:Almost all Gulf oil production shuts down for Hurricane Ida. Will gas prices be affected?