ELY - The historic Burntside Lodge, the oldest guest lodge in the Ely area, nestled among the pines on the southern shore of Burntside Lake, as well as nearby Camp Van Vac, in operation for almost 100 years, were both hit hard by the powerful storm that ripped through the area last Thursday morning.

“We have a lot of devastation from this horrific storm,” said Lonnie LaMontagne, one of the Burntside Lodge owners, on Monday morning.

“This was worse than the 1999 storm when we lost hundreds of trees,” she said. “We lost many trees last week, lots of virgin white pines.”

The main log boathouse was in shambles after the storm passed. The roof section landed across the bay. A smaller boathouse nearby was also lost to the storm. Cabin 23 was knocked off its foundation, she said. A number of large pine trees were toppled at the entryway to the resort.

“The good news is that no one was hurt,” LaMontagne said. The resort was fully occupied on the night of the storm. “This continues to be shocking on how much the landscape has changed.”

She couldn’t bring herself to comment about the boathouse.

She went on to applaud the resort guests and neighbors who all offered immediate help. “From the youngest to the oldest, they all sprang into action,” she said. “That says so much about the quality of our guests and our whole community.”

Her husband, Lou, went from cabin to cabin during the height of the early morning storm checking on guests. “Even our guests were checking on each other and made sure everyone was safe,” she said. “So many people were impressed with the solid construction of the buildings. Everybody was safe. We were so lucky.”

Power was not restored at Burntside Lodge until Friday afternoon. “The restaurant was re-opened Friday night and we were busy all weekend serving meals while the cleanup continued,” she said. “Our new guests who came in on Sunday all chipped in to help. We are moving forward.”

Nancy Jo Tubbs, who currently manages Camp Van Vac, founded by her great-aunt and -uncle in 1917, said Tuesday that more than 200 trees were lost on the property, located at the end of Van Vac Lane.

“We were at ground zero,” she said. “It took seven guys with chain saws, plus their crews following them, eight hours just to clear the road on Thursday.”

All 24 cabins were full, with some 100 guests. There were no injuries and the cabins sustained only minor damage. “We were very lucky in that way,” Tubbs said. “Some of our guests even slept through it. We lost all the big pines on our point, and they were iconic pines.”

She related that one huge pine, located next to a stone cabin, took off the corner of the roof. “Noise from the storm was so loud, people inside didn’t hear the tree come down.”

Camp Van Vac was closed this week to clean up the debris, but will remain open for the rest of the summer. “Some people decided to come anyhow and stay nearby or come and help us clean up,” she said.

Utility companies have been working all week to restore power in the area. Tubbs hoped to have partial power by Tuesday afternoon.

“By Thursday, I hope to call next week’s guest to let them know they can come,” she said.

Tubbs said she continues to be amazed by her guests. “They were amazing,” she said. “They just jumped in and started hauling stuff, helping with the cleanup. Some people did leave on Thursday or Friday morning, but most stayed until Saturday.”

Clean up is continuing. There is no cell phone service at the camp. They have to drive out to the end of the road to make a phone call. And no power meant no water. ‘We used a generator on the water pump, so we had very cold well water in the shower building,” she said

“We’ve done a lot of cleanup, but there are piles and piles of brush and branches to haul off, plus the big trees. “For clearing paths,we have a logger coming in.”

She added, “We feel so lucky that nobody was hurt and cabin damage was minimal.”

“We are looking at a year of cleanup, minimum. We have trails in the woods, but I don’t know what will happen with them. We can’t bring in equipment. We will have to clear them by hand, bit by bit.”