The Pardoo Roadhouse and Tavern bore the brunt of the category five cyclone when it crossed the coast early on Friday, with record winds of 213km/h.
Ilsa is now quickly tracking inland through Telfer as a category two system, packing wind gusts up to 170km/h, with a red alert still in place for communities from De Grey to Telfer and Parnngurr.
Pardoo Roadhouse, 151km northeast of Port Hedland, said it planned to rebuild despite a massive clean-up ahead.
"We are all still a bit shaken and emotional to see the damage from Cyclone Ilsa," it said in a Facebook post.
"She may have wiped us out, but she can't take away our spirit. We face a massive clean-up with plans to rebuild."
Photos show the roof completely gone, a broken glass door and collapsed ceilings, with the owners to launch a GoFundMe page to help pay the estimated $4 million damage bill.
"We are insured but we are in a very remote area and we estimate the rebuild will cost a lot more than that," owner Kelly Anne said.
"This is not just where we work, this is our home and a community for nearby FIFO workers, truckies, and of course travellers."
Telfer gold mine operator Newcrest Mining said it was too early to know the impact of the cyclone as it continued to pass through the area.
"Our first and foremost priority is the safety of our people, and we can confirm that the small number of personnel who remained on site are currently safe and secure in the purpose-built facility," the gold miner said.
It was back to business in Port Hedland.
Australia's busiest port reopened on Friday morning after the mining town was spared from the wrath of Cyclone Ilsa, with mining set to resume by Friday evening.
Residents sheltered overnight in Port Hedland but emerged to find the town relatively unscathed.
Mayor Peter Carter said he was awake for most of the night, listening to howling winds when the wind and rain suddenly died about 1.30am.
"I was up most of the night, watching the trees, thinking here it comes, then all of a sudden it just died off," he told AAP.
"It had an eerie feel, really strange - Mother Nature does interesting things. We dodged a major bullet last night."
WA Department of Fire and Emergency Services incident controller Glenn Hall said authorities were focused on getting boots on the ground in towns across the region including Marble Bar and Nullagine to work out what help was needed.
The Bureau of Meteorology's Dean Narramore said Cyclone Ilsa might have delivered a new record for sustained wind speeds in Australia, with offshore wind gusts up to 289km/h recorded at Bedout Island before measurements stopped working.
He said the weather system might still cause flash flooding and could isolate communities and residents if roads were cut.
Cyclone Ilsa is expected to continue moving east southeast and maintain intensity before weakening below tropical cyclone strength on Friday night as it moves into southern parts of the Northern Territory.
Communities in the NT from Yulara to Ti Tree have been asked to prepare for the possibility of gale-force winds and up to 100mm of rainfall on Saturday.
"While the system will continue to weaken as it tracks east, conditions will be dangerous," NT acting assistant commissioner for the region Kylie Anderson said.
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