ST. JONES — Steve Ryan watched his town's main source of employment burn to the ground Tuesday night as a powerful storm battered the coast of eastern Newfoundland.
The mayor of St. Mary's, NL, says waves crashed ashore, drenching firefighters as they battled to extinguish a blaze at a burning fish factory in gale-force winds.
He says there was nothing they or anyone else could do to save the enterprise, which provided good jobs for about 300 people in the St. Mary's Bay area on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula.
Ryan's voice broke as he described the years of work he put into reopening the plant in 2022 after it had been vacant for about seven years.
The storm struck on Tuesday afternoon, bringing winds of more than 150 kilometers per hour to some areas and a surge of ocean water that destroyed parts of coastal roads.
Severe weather continues today, with Environment Canada warning of high winds and possible flooding along parts of the northern coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2025.
