NEW ORLEANS — Parts of the Lafitte area remain frozen in time.
Scars from Hurricane Ida dot the landscape, one year after one of the most powerful storms to hit Louisiana smacked lower Jefferson Parish.
“It’s been pretty rough, really,” Lower Lafitte resident Jerry Bruce said. “We’ve been struggling down here, really. Everybody’s just frustrated.”
Bruce’s property took on 8 feet of water during the storm.
“I lost two big sheds,” Bruce said. “I lost my roof and some of my steps, you see they’re still broken, still torn up but I’m going to handle that myself.”
Ida pushed a wall of water and mud over the seven-and-a-half-foot non-federal levees there.
High winds and heavy rain punished the Lafitte, Barataria, and Crown Point communities for 12 hours.
“We’re pretty lucky that I still have my home,” Bruce said. “But there’s a lot of people down here, like across the street, they’re still struggling.”
Lesley Andrs had to live in his truck for a while after the storm.
He’s now living in a FEMA trailer.
“Went and checked the house out (after the storm) and it was full of fish in the place,” Anders said. “Still water, up to our knees. It was rough. Finally, they got it cleaned up. It’s going to be a good while.”
The storm left Fisher Middle and High Schools in Lafitte underwater.
“The day after, the morning after, I took the pirogue out and went sightseeing and it was devastating,” Fisher Head Football Coach Tevyn Cagins said. “The water was completely over the fence. You wouldn’t be able to see your car. That’s how much water was in there.”
Fisher students are still being taught in temporary classrooms at John Ehret High School in Marrero.
Cagins says they’re still waiting on word from FEMA to see if his school will be rebuilt.
“If it comes back over the 50 percent mark, it will be rebuilt. If it’s under it will be refurbished. With the flood plan, you’d have to put a 12-foot wall around the whole school, we’re hoping we get raised.”
Lafitte Mayor Tim Kerner Jr. said despite the storm damage, his town is open for business.
“Look, we made so much progress in the last year,” Kerner said. “Still a lot of work to be done. The bayous still need to be cleared. They still have drainage issues. There’s still a lot of people who are still not in homes and still trying to find out how to put a roof over their head but we’ve made a lot of progress.”
Kerner complains federal funding to bolster hurricane and flood protection has so far eluded the Lafitte area.
“They have 100-year protection two and a half miles north of us. They’re building levees west of us. They’re raising levees east of us, now they’re sending levee money south of us.”
There are some for-sale signs along Jean Lafitte Highway.
But long-time residents like Coach Cagins say in spite of the risk of future storms, Lafitte is home.
"We’re built different,” Cagins said. “We’re bayou built. To be able to handle adversity and keep moving forward, kind of explains the mindset of this whole community.”
They have a saying along Bayou Barataria. The storm that first makes you weak, will make you stronger…Lafitte Strong.