- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Energy | Environment
A pre‑dawn fire tore through a central training building at the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center on April 10, causing extensive damage and forcing the nonprofit to suspend its in‑person solar workforce programs and displacing a key space where students learn and gather.
The blaze broke out in the Sacred Earth Lodge, a Quonset‑style structure that serves as the organization’s primary classroom and gathering space, after a spark from a wood stove ignited a nearby kindling box.
John Red Cloud, the organization’s director of programs, said the interior was quickly overwhelmed by heat and smoke, destroying equipment and compromising much of the structure. The fire also injured his son and his father, Chief Henry Red Cloud, the organization’s executive director. Both were present at the time and had to escape amid the smoke and heat.
“There were maybe four or five inches of breathable air on the bottom,” he said. “All the plastic things just melted.”
Fire marshals estimate the building sustained 65% to 70% percent damage. The stairwell, classroom, kitchen, men’s bathroom and second‑floor conference area were all compromised. Appliances, cookware and training materials were ruined, and the organization has not yet been able to test whether electrical systems, insulation or water lines survived the heat.
“We really don’t know,” Red Cloud said. “We’re certain it’s in the tens of thousands of dollars.”
The fire also forced the nonprofit to divert staff from grant‑funded solar projects to emergency cleanup and documentation work, adding strain to an already lean operation.
“We have to repurpose staff hours to work on this,” Red Cloud said. “There’s nothing really for this when it comes to our grant dollars or our insurance, so that’s the unknown.”
The organization’s May training cohort has been postponed indefinitely. Staff are now conducting debris removal and itemizing damaged materials while awaiting guidance from insurers and licensed electricians on whether the building’s infrastructure can be salvaged.
As Red Cloud Renewable begins rebuilding its training center, supporters have launched a fundraising campaign to “restore the heart” of the organization’s operations. The Sacred Earth Lodge has served as a central gathering place where students learn and share meals, making its loss both operational and communal. While material losses can be replaced, staff say the interruption to its workforce programs makes community support critical in the months ahead.
The setback comes at a pivotal moment for Red Cloud Renewable, which is expanding its clean‑energy work across the Pine Ridge Reservation. In late March, the organization announced a $5.265 million partnership with the Bush Foundation to launch the Wiconi Solar Initiative, a five‑year effort to deploy 100 Mobile Electricity Generating Appliances, or MEGAs, to Oglala Lakota households.
“These MEGA units will bring solar energy directly to families, reducing electricity costs and expanding access to clean, affordable power,” said Ramla Bile of the Bush Foundation.
Each 6.39‑kilowatt unit is expected to save households about $1,500 annually. The initiative is being developed in collaboration with GismoPower, which designed the mobile solar systems.
Chief Henry Red Cloud said at the time that the project reflects a long‑term vision for community‑driven energy independence.
“This partnership is a testament to the strength and innovation of our community,” he said.
