Grand Isle's Police Chief, a St. Martinville native, details the damage the barrier island got hit with

GRAND ISLE, La. (KLFY) -- A man from St. Martinville has been at ground zero of Hurricane Ida recovery even before the storm made landfall. From the second story of the Grand Isle multiplex, Police Chief Scooter Resweber watched the world unfold around him.

"This is the worst. This is the master of them all," the Chief said.

"We could see houses coming apart and trailers rolling around," Resweber recalled. "And it got bad, and we heard the roof starting to tear apart on this building, and things got real hairy then."

That was three hours before the eye passed over, and debris started being thrown the other way. The Chief says most of his department doesn't have homes that are livable.

"Most of my family's pictures, my wife's pictures who passed away last year, those were too wet and ruined," Resweber said.

It was his wife's idea to move from St. Martinville when they were they were just dating on a camping trip.

"She said to me, 'wouldn't it be nice to live here.'"

After almost 50 years, and the worst hurricane he's suffered, Resweber still calls his second home paradise.

"I'm a lifelong resident of Grand Isle now. I came from St. Martinville, Louisiana in 1972, and I've already built a tomb here for me and my wife," the Chief said. "My wife's in it now, and this is where I'll die. This is what I call home now."

Chief Resweber shared his gratitude for all the assistance from Acadiana. He specifically mentioned the St. Mary Sheriff's Office, which twice personally delivered four-wheelers, fuel, and food.