CAMERON PARISH, La. — With her two dogs, Shannon Broussard is going through her first ever evacuation.
“I’m terrified. I live in Johnson Bayou,” Broussard said. “I’m scared I’m not going to have anything to go back to.”
Johnson Bayou is one of several towns south of the Intracoastal Waterway in Cameron Parish, an area wary of hurricanes.
“It’s the third time we’ve had to evacuate in my 35 years in the first department,” Mark Grangier said. “We know when to get out.”
Grangier is a firefighter in Hackberry. He’s preparing to evacuate as well. While filling up his gas can, he shared what’s most important right now.
“We’re getting out families out. That’s the first priority,” he said. “We’ve had some of fire apparatus moving out because it’s going to get pretty deep around here.”
With the whole of Cameron Parish under a mandatory evacuation order, many homes and businesses are boarded up. People’s lives stuffed into their trucks and cars.
With its many fishing camps and its proximity to the water, Holly Beach has a very similar feel to Grand Isle. This community was devastated by Hurricane Rita almost 15 years ago. Now, there's Laura.
A local deputy checked on Enjolie Monceaux’s family as they were about to leave. They rebuilt after Rita and said they can’t endure another storm.
“I’m sad for my parents,” she said. “This was their life.”
With that, they drove away. Maybe for the last time.
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