TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Alan Nyiri watched helplessly as heavy winds ripped a section of roof clear off the south barn at Empire Ranch in Sonoita last Tuesday.
"All of a sudden this gust of wind came up, and boxes and other things were just skittering across," said Nyiri, who volunteers for the Bureau of Land Management and lives on the ranch half the year. "And the corner of the roof right here suddenly just started to lift up and flipped over."
Sonoita is no stranger to heavy winds.
But for the Empire Ranch Foundation, repairs to the ranch can cost a small fortune.
"There's stuff that needs to be, you know, replaced and repaired, besides just literally putting the skin back on. So we feel this is a bigger project. And, you know, we do our best," said Faith Boice McCabe, president of the Foundation.
Boice McCabe and the foundation are left to cover the costs of repairs to the barn.
"A building without a roof is not a building for very long. If you don't have a good roof on it, it's gone," says Boice McCabe.
Their next event on the ranch is their spring trail ride on April 5.
All money raised or donated goes to repairs and renovations for the ranch house.
The ranch is still open to visitors, but the south barn is closed.
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Blake Phillips is a reporter for KGUN 9. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Blake grew up in Sierra Vista. During his college tenure at the Missouri School of Journalism, Blake worked for the NBC affiliate KOMU-TV in Columbia. He is excited to return to a place he calls home and give back to the community in which he grew up. Share your story ideas and important issues with Blake by emailing blake.phillips@kgun9.com.
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