Quick Take
About 20 firefighters responded to a blaze that broke out early Tuesday at Santa Cruz's Circle Church. Santa Cruz Fire Marshal Tim Shields said that the presence of multiple fires made it clear that arson was likely.
An early-morning fire at the Circle Church on Santa Cruz’s Westside is being investigated as a suspected arson.
About 20 firefighters responded to the blaze, which broke out at the Garfield Park Community Church at 115 Errett Circle around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday. Several neighbors reported the smoke and flames coming from inside the building and firefighters spotted heavy smoke on the western edge of the property, the Santa Cruz Fire Department said in a news release.
Inside, firefighters found multiple fires burning throughout the building, which they extinguished within 15 minutes. No one was injured in the blaze, which the fire department estimates caused around $105,000 in damage. The Santa Cruz Police Department is helping with the arson investigation.
Santa Cruz Fire Marshal Tim Shields said all of the damage is on the building’s interior, and that there is no structural damage to the church. He added that there were indications of “some sort of human inhabitation.” He also said that because there were multiple locations where fires were started, it was quickly obvious that arson was likely.
The landmark church at the center of the Circles neighborhood has been slated for demolition for years to be converted into housing, but the project has been beset by delays.
An artists collective known as Liminal Space has hosted events and workshops in the space and has painted murals on the doomed church, though neighbors have complained about graffiti, trash and vehicles parked around the property.
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