Newfoundland fish plant burns to the ground during storm

The fish plant had been in St. Mary’s for more than 40 years before it was destroyed in Tuesday’s fire.

Steve Ryan watched his town’s main source of employment burn to the ground on Tuesday night as a powerful storm pounded the coasts of eastern Newfoundland.

The mayor of St. Mary’s was outside the burning fish plant for most of the night as waves slammed onto the shore, drenching the local firefighters. Sometimes, it was hard to stay standing in the rushing water, he said.

The firefighters’ hoses were no match for the hurricane-force winds driving the flames.

There was nothing they could do to save the facility, which provided jobs for more than 300 people in the St. Mary’s Bay region of Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula.

“I just can’t explain how much it meant to our town,” Ryan said