BATON ROUGE — A fire caused close to a million dollars in damage to a veterans center on South Sherwood Forest Boulevard that provided free mental health services to veterans and their families, and it could be years before the facility reopens.

The Vet Center served veterans and their families across 19 parishes. Baton Rouge fire officials say the damage estimate is close to $1 million.

Fire crews fought to contain the fire for six hours. The building sustained widespread smoke damage, charred debris, and broken windows.

Julie Thompson arrived at the facility to drop off food donations as part of the East Baton Rouge Republican Women. She had no idea what had happened until she was told.

"I'm just devastated for the vets and all the services they receive out of this building," Thompson said.

Anthony Moses, who does restoration work and spent 10 years as a firefighter with the Baton Rouge Fire Department, was in the parking lot after the fire. He pointed to metal warping in the building as a sign of how intense the heat got.

"Your fire is always looking for oxygen," Moses said. "Once that window opened, that fire ramped up."

Baton Rouge Fire Department's Billy Zachary said crews were careful in their work.

"It takes a while to be thorough — we want to be very thorough and make sure the fire is out," Zachary said.

All services from the vet center are being relocated to the VA Baton Rouge South Community Based Outpatient Clinic on Anslemo Lane.