GRAND ISLE, La. (AP) — Mounds of mud, sand and debris that were dumped on this resort island weeks ago by hurricanes Gustav and Ike are grim reminders along the highway for residents returning to Grand Isle.”Right after the storm, you couldn’t tell what was Louisiana and what was actual beach,” said Aubrey Chaisson, the island’s fire chief and head of emergency medical services.More than 200 homes and fishing camps have been declared uninhabitable and businesses are just starting to get up and running again.But the storm-weary island, once frequented by the pirate Jean Lafitte, has friends — talented ones — who came to its rescue with a benefit concert Saturday sponsored by the New Orleans suburb of Kenner.Headlining the concert, in Kenner’s Laketown, was soul music legend Irma Thomas, with other performances by the Rebirth Brass Band, the Chee Weez and Bag of Donuts.Proceeds from the $5 admission are earmarked for the island’s first responders.A speck of land at the entrance to Barataria Bay about 75 miles south of New Orleans, Grand Isle has seen destruction before. In the past three years, four major hurricanes have ripped off roofs, toppled homes and submerged the land.But something is different this time.Unlike the aftermath of past storms, people have been slow to return. Before Gustav and Ike, about 1,500 people called the island home.”This is something I’ve never seen before,” said Chaisson, 35, an island native. “People usually rush back, but this time it’s slow. Even after Katrina people came back faster than this.”Life is stirring at Grand Isle, though it’s clear Gustav and Ike may have a profound and prolonged impact.Claude Rome, the 82-year-old owner of Rome’s Lounge, sounded almost defiant as he stripped the waterlogged walls and ceilings Thursday to begin replacing them with fresh drywall. “I love Grand Isle. I’m not going to leave it.”At another lounge nearby, Cisco’s Cantina, owner Charles Esponge was preparing to reopen for the first time since Ike. The building has been cleaned and restocked. Two shiny new pool tables and a new juke box were delivered Thursday.”We’re getting it back together,” said Esponge. “This is paradise. The hurricanes, it’s just part of it. It’s part of living here.”For some, however, four poundings in three years is too much.”It’s time to move on,” said Wanda Kirby, who with her husband, Tim, owns the 13-room Sandpiper Shores beachfront hotel.The Kirbys put a “For Sale” sign in front of the property a few days earlier. Workers this week were dragging water-damaged mattresses and furniture to the roadside. Although the hotel had little damage from tidal surge because it is on piers high off the ground, the storms’ strong winds ripped off parts of the roof and rain poured in.Two rooms have been renovated, and the Kirbys had a reservation for Thursday night — their first since the storms. Like the people who live here, first responders — fire and emergency crews — are struggling with mounting bills and the need to replace rescue trucks and equipment lost in the storms.The fire department is using borrowed rescue trucks and has been working from a makeshift fire station. Hurricane Katrina claimed the old one in 2005, and construction won’t begin on its replacement until next year.Irma Thomas said she feels the pain of the people of Grand Isle.”They’re so vulnerable. I’m just happy to do whatever I can to help them out,” she said.Thomas knows firsthand the destructive impact of hurricanes. She lost her New Orleans home and almost all of her belongings in Katrina.Rallying behind one another in time of need, “that’s what communities do,” Thomas said.- – – -Contact The Daily Reveille’s entertainment staff at [email protected]