LETHBRIDGE – On Sunday night a fire destroyed the Blood Tribe Youth Ranch. Blood Tribe officials say it’s a total loss, and now a pile of rubble is all that remains at the ranch located just north of Stand Off.
“They are shaken up and the building is gone and now they are in a crisis,” said Rick Tailfeathers, Blood Tribe Communications.
Kainaiwa Children’s Services Corporation who runs the youth ranch says all the staff and children inside were evacuated safely, and it implemented its disaster recovery plan.
Ty McHugh works on the ranch across from the youth shelter and says he feels for the teens who called it home.
“It’s pretty devastating and pretty shocking,” says McHugh. “There was a lot of work put into it and seeing it down like that is pretty bad.”
Blood Tribe officials say the concern now is if the ranch will be replaced, and how valuable of a service it is to First Nations youth.
“The loss of the building is going to have a big impact on the operations, and at the moment we do not know what the future is” adds Tailfeathers.
About 15 youth called the ranch home , but Blood Tribe officials say all of the teens are safe and in good hands.
The cause of the fire has still not been determined and the investigation continues
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