ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE - Rocky Agricultural Stampede Association suffered a severe setback on Sunday due to a fire at its rodeo grounds, says past-president Lorrie McMeekin.

The association’s annual event — Rocky Rodeo Pros Out West from June 4 to 8 — is about a month away.

The fire, reported at about 5 p.m., destroyed the only building on the grounds, containing the announcer’s booth, VIP seating, and storage space.

Nothing but the metal frame remained of the upper levels of the facility. Fire also damaged nearby animal chutes.

“We’re not a big club. We worked very hard to create what is there,” McMeekin said on Monday.

“It remains to be seen what we can do in the next little while to put it together.”

A meeting was going to be held Monday night to determine the association’s next step.

“I suspect we’ll still make a go of it with what we’ve got,” said current president Sue Coleman.

Residents along the North Saskatchewan River could hear the roar of the fire that destroyed the only building at the rodeo grounds.

“It was scary. My five-year-old came running in the house screaming,” said Anita Lambert who lives across the river from the rodeo grounds, located at North Saskatchewan River Park.

The building was quickly engulfed in flames and the roar didn’t stop until the roof fell in, she said.

Lambert was glad no one was injured, and that there wasn’t a strong wind so the fire was contained and didn’t spread.

“This is very depressing. There’s not much to look at now,” said John Skolly.

He’s a rodeo association board member who was checking out the damage Monday morning.

McMeekin said there was nothing on site that could have started the fire. A generator powers the facility and it was removed for the winter.

Both fire officials and the RCMP were investigating the fire.

The cause has not yet been released.

Since the rodeo grounds moved to its site two years ago vandalism had been limited to a few people driving vehicles through the grounds and a break-in at the rodeo office, Coleman said.

“It’s a sad, sad thing. Just a few minutes, and it’s gone,” said McMeekin who was called out to the fire Sunday night.

A snowdrift made it difficult for fire crews to access the rodeo ground. Luckily a dozer was on site to clear the way.

McMeekin said the VIP seating could accommodate 150 people and played an important role in sponsorship for the rodeo.

Tables, a fridge, and a microwave were inside the building at the time of the fire.

The building may have been worth about $150,000 but it was difficult to say since there was so much volunteer time and donated products that went into the construction, he said.

And it wasn’t quite finished yet, he added.

He didn’t know how much insurance there was on the building.

By Monday afternoon, McMeekin said he had received several calls and offers to help rebuild. But any reconstruction will need to meet engineering standards and building codes.

Money is the biggest problem, plus there’s limited before the rodeo, he said.

Contact Susan Zielinski at szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com