ESTILL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - Aldersgate Camp and Retreat Center in Estill County faced a devastating fire on August 10 that claimed their main lodge building.

No one was inside the lodge at the time of the fire, and no one was injured.

The lodge was what many longtime camp goers call “the heartbeat of Aldersgate.”

“For many of us, this is not just a camp, but it is home. And I think we’re emotionally attached to it,” Julie Hager Love says.

She’s been coming to the camp for over 45 years. First as a camper, and then as a parent when her kids joined. She is also a Reverend.

When Love heard about the fire, she said she was in shock.

“I was hoping maybe it wouldn’t be too bad until I saw the pictures and saw that it was total devastation,” Love says.

The pile of metal, wood, and ashes us

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