Once the state’s only habitable barrier island, Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish took the full brunt of Hurricane Ida’s landfall. Now damage reports coming in are dire. More from Brooke Thorington…:

CUT 01  (38)        “…Thorington”

President Biden will tour areas damaged by Ida this week. He’ll arrive Friday to see for himself what the storm has done and to check on recovery efforts. More details on Biden’s visit will be released as they become available.

Power is slowly being restored in the city of New Orleans. Entergy President and CEO Deanna Rodriguez says over 11-thousand have had their electricity restored, and that number is increasing…:

CUT 07  (11)        “…Fire Department”

Still, about 44-percent of the state’s utility customers remain without power.

Congressman Garret Graves says southeast Louisiana took a brutal hit from Hurricane Ida. Graves’ district extends down into Thibodaux and lower Terrebonne Parish, and he says the destruction is frightening…:

CUT 12  (14)        “…and trees”

Fuel shortages continue to a problem for folks running generators and awaiting the juice to come on.

Progress is being made to get the lights back on in Louisiana, Dave Brannen has the details.

Cut 2 (32)…I’m Dave Brannen.”  

President Joe Biden will tour southeast Louisiana on Friday to see damage and recovery efforts from Hurricane Ida. Senator Bill Cassidy released a statement thanking Biden for the upcoming visit and said, “We know for the bitter experience with Hurricane Laura that aid can be delayed too long,” Cassidy says he plans to ask the president again for supplemental aid to be delivered for southwest Louisiana and expedited for southeast Louisiana.

Jefferson Parish Director of Fire Services Bryn Adams wants to discourage any sightseers from visiting Grand Isle because it hinders their response. Without power and water and 100-percent of structures damaged the island is uninhabitable. Adams says it will be several years before the island recovers.

Cut 5 (09) “…to where it was so.”

Jefferson parish remains under a 6 pm to 6 am curfew.

Finding fuel is a difficult task in southeast Louisiana as many stations are out and there are long lines at stations that do have fuel. Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre says he can’t get answers on why local refineries are not up and running. He imagines they have to follow certain protocols

Cut 10 (12)     this storm” 

The reports out of Grand Isle are catastrophic, officials say the barrier island is uninhabitable. Jefferson Parish Councilman Ricky Templet says they’ve found 15 breaches in Burrito Levee that need to be addressed immediately because we are at the height of hurricane season. Despite the total devastation of Grand Isle, Templet says there is some bright news.

Cut 4 (12) “…all of this” 

Power is slowly being restored in New Orleans. Entergy President and CEO Deanna Rodriquez says the partial restoration took place at one this morning with the repair of a transmission line from Slidell…

Cut 6 (14) “… New Orleans east” 

More than 11,500 Orleans Parish customers had the lights back on by mid-morning today

Finding fuel is a difficult task in southeast Louisiana as many stations are out and there are long lines at stations that do have fuel. Ascension Parish Sheriff Bobby Webre says the local refineries that usually supply his agency and surrounding gas stations with fuel are not at the moment…

Cut 9 (13) “..we are” 

Webre says he can’t get answers on why local refineries are not up and running.

The New Orleans Saints will play their season opener in Jacksonville, Florida on September 12^th against the Green Bay Packers. The Sunday afternoon game has been moved to Florida due to Hurricane Ida.

The state reports 12,380 new COVID-19, the number includes cases from the weekend, and this week, there was a delay in reporting due to Ida. 223 deaths were also reported over the extended period.

The reports out of Grand Isle are catastrophic. Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng says she’s received dismal news from site visits of the barrier island, which was the state’s only habitable barrier island.

Cut 3 (13) “…are damaged.”

Sheng says they will be setting up a system to relay information to the residents of Grand Isle who she knows are anxious to receive word.

Fuel shortages are also a problem in Louisiana as Ida has created production and distribution issues. Congressman Garret Graves says power is not the only issue refineries are facing and it’s a topic he’s discussed with the White House…

Cut 14 (11) “…sources of energy”

Hurricane Ida has disrupted the production of oil and gas and the great demand for fuel is causing long lines around gas stations. Gas Buddy’s Senior Petroleum Analyst, Patrick DeHaan, says prices could increase 5 to 15 cents over the next two weeks…

cut 5 (11) “…several weeks”
Hammond officials say the city is out of gasoline and Ascension Parish leaders are begging for fuel trucks to re-fill their gas pumps.

Louisiana has received approval from the federal government to allow food stamp recipients to purchase hot food products for immediate consumption. DCFS Assistant Secretary of Family Support Shavana Howard…
Cut 10 (11) “…corner store.”
Howard says waving the restriction is vital because many residents are displaced

More images and video is coming in that’s showing the widespread destruction from Hurricane Ida. Jefferson Parish officials say Grand Isle is uninhabitable and will be that way for some time. Captain Brennan Matherne with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s office says every structure that he’s seen has suffered some sort of damage…
cut 8 (11) “…house to house”

Meanwhile, the Saints are looking at spending the next month of the season, possibly in Dallas, as they wait for power and other basic utility to return to the New Orleans area. Coach Sean Payton says there are a lot of pluses in being displaced in north Texas…
cut 14 (13) “…hosting us”
General Manager Mickey Loomis says an announcement could be made today on where the season opener will be played.

Gas shortages are plaguing the state and with a number of refineries not up and running after Ida, prices at the pump are expected to rise. Brooke Thorington has more.
Cut 1 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”

Officials have been concerned about generator use with so many individuals without power. New Orleans EM says seven kids and five adults were brought to the hospital after getting carbon monoxide poisoning. Heat will be an issue again today as there’s a heat advisory in effect statewide today and tomorrow.

We are getting a better idea of the extent of the damage Hurricane Ida did to southeast Louisiana. Jefferson Parish officials say Grand Isle is uninhabitable as it is covered with three feet of sand. Congressman Garret Graves says he spent the day in LaPlace and he’s amazed by the amount of destruction…
cut 13 (12) “…of the hurricane”

Expect gasoline prices to rise over the next couple of weeks. Gas Buddy’s Senior Petroleum Analyst, Patrick DeHaan says the price could go up five to 15 cents…
cut 4 (11) “…these refineries”
There’s also a shortage of gas in southeast Louisiana. Hammond officials say there is no more gas in their city and Ascension Parish leaders say they need fuel.

Entergy says 769-thousand of its customers remain without power in southeast Louisiana. But their outage map says power has returned to some portions of New Orleans east. Cleco reports says they are sending more resources to St. Tammany and Washington parishes after completing restoration efforts in Iberia and St. Mary parishes.

The Saints are planning to stay away from New Orleans for the first month of the regular season. Kevin Gallagher has the story…
Cut 3 (32) “…I’m Kevin Gallagher.”

Congressman Garret Graves says southeast Louisiana took a heck of a hit from Hurricane Ida. Graves’ district extends down into Thibodaux and lower Terrebonne Parish and he’s amazed by the widespread destruction the Category Four storm produced from storm surge to damaging winds…
cut 12 (14) “…and trees”
Jefferson Parish officials say Grand Isle is uninhabitable. But over in Lafourche Parish, Captain Brennan Matherne with the sheriff’s office, says there is some good news for south Lafourche…
cut 7 (12) “..couple hundred years”
But Matherne says every single structure he’s seen in Lafourche has sustained some sort of wind damage.

Louisiana has received approval from the federal government to allow food stamp recipients to purchase hot food products for immediate consumption. DCFS Assistant Secretary of Family Support Shavana Howard…
Cut 10 (11) “…corner store.”
Howard says waving the restriction is vital because many residents are displaced.

Hurricane Ida has disrupted the production of oil and gas. Gas Buddy’s Senior Petroleum Analyst, Patrick DeHaan, says prices could increase 5 to 15 cents over the next two weeks…
cut 5 (11) “…several weeks”
DeHaan says gas outages are also a big issue. Hammond officials say the city is out of gasoline and Ascension Parish leaders are begging for fuel trucks to re-fill their gas pumps.

Jefferson Parish officials say Grand Isle is unhabitable and it might take five years to put the island back together after Hurricane Ida completely destroyed nearly 50 percent of the structures on the state’s only inhabited barrier island.

In Lafourche Parish, Captain Brennan Matherne with the sheriff’s office says every structure in the parish has sustained some sort of damage and there are also flooding issues…
cut 9 (13) “…some how’

Meanwhile, gas prices are on the rise as Hurricane Ida has slowed production and there are also gas shortages throughout southeast Louisiana. Gas Buddy’s Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan says he knows of one refinery that took on water…
cut 6 (10) “…longer lasting”

Louisiana has received a waiver from the federal government that allows food stamp recipients to purchase hot food products for immediate consumption. DCFS Secretary Shavana Howard says the same hot food waiver will apply once disaster food stamps are approved. She encourages residents to pre-register for disaster food stamps
cut 11 (11) “…as well”

The Saints are looking at spending the next month in the Dallas area because of Hurricane Ida devastation that has left New Orleans nearly powerless. Coach Sean Payton says they are in the same position as the city’s residents…
Cut 13 (15) “…to that yet.”
The Saints are scheduled to kick-off the regular season on September 12th against the Green Bay Packers, but that game could be played in Dallas.