Fiona damages historic Fortress of Louisburg, rips roofs, and destroys wharfs across town

Famous for the fortress, Louisburg, N.S., sustained significant damage when post-tropical storm Fiona ripped through the region.

The community has gone six days without power, several homes are destroyed, and the beloved historic site may have been damaged.

Power crews from Maine are in the area working on clearing branches from lines. The town's fire chief is one of many working to the point of exhaustion.

"Well, I went to work Friday, I got home Sunday morning, and I'm running on two, three hours a day," said Town of Louisburg Fire Chief Leo Carter.

Along with downed trees, many of the area's wharfs sustained damage and some homes, too.

"A lot of stuff got flattened, some homes here completely destroyed," said Carter.

At the home of Stanley Nicholson and Pat Pavitt, water continues to drip from the ceiling.

"It was very unreal. The side of the house shook, she heard the roof come off, I didn't, and she heard the chimney hit the roof itself," said Stanley.

When the roof came off, water flowed into the home.

The two were unable to get home insurance and now they are left with uncertainty as to whether their home of 40 years will be livable again.

"I'm hoping they'll say we can stay here... and they'll just redo it all, hopefully," said Pat.

Another Louisburg resident, Catherine Porter, is on day six without power, and she says she is not sure when it will be restored considering the damage throughout the town.

On top of that, the food in her fridge is now spoiled.

"The power said they'd give you a hundred dollars towards your food. Well, a hundred dollars is not going to go too far," said Porter.

Down the road at the Fortress of Louisburg National Historic Site, roads are being cleared with some still left to go.

Staff are assessing the damages to roofs and chimneys, all of which will require special skills and materials to fix.

"We were saying this was our third siege, twice by the British and once by Fiona," said Eddy Kennedy of Parks Canada.

Many of the site's roofs are made of either slate or copper, while other parts have been completely changed by the storm.

"Unfortunately we've lost the best part of what was the lighthouse trail, the landscape has totally changed out there. There's coves where there wasn't coves," said Kennedy.

The site will be closed until at least after Thanksgiving as officials say it is too hazardous to allow visitors in.