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Fire Destroys Much of 249-year-old Church in California

Associated Press

   SAN GABRIEL, CALIFORNIA - A fire early Saturday destroyed the rooftop
   and most of the interior of a Catholic church in California that was
   undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary
   celebration.

   Fire alarms at the San Gabriel Mission rang around 4 a.m., and when
   firefighters arrived they saw smoke rising from the wooden rooftop in
   one corner of the historic structure, San Gabriel Fire Captain Paul
   Negrete said.

   He said firefighters entered the church and tried to beat back the
   flames, but they had to retreat when roofing and other structural
   materials began to fall, Negrete said.

   "We were trying to fight it from the inside. We weren't able to because
   it became unsafe," he said.

   After evacuating the church, the crew was joined by up to 50
   firefighters who tried to douse water on the 50-foot-high structure
   from ladder trucks, he said.

   "The roof is completely gone," the captain said. "The fire traversed
   the wood rapidly. The interior is pretty much destroyed up into the
   altar area."

   The cause of the fire was under investigation, Negrete said. He said
   the recent toppling of monuments to Junipero Serra, the founder of the
   California mission system who has long been a symbol of oppression
   among Indigenous activists, will be a factor in the investigation.

   "This will be another box that they're going to check off," he said.

   Robert Barron, the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,
   tweeted that he was "deeply troubled" by the fire as he awaited further
   information about its cause.

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