St. George East Stake Center Burned Down

KSL News

ST. GEORGE, Utah – A Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stake center that was under renovation was lost early Saturday to a fire, according to the St. George East Stake Presidency.

Fire officials said the fire broke out around 1:30 a.m. They said the cause is being treated as a criminal investigation as the area where the fire started does not have any electrical or heat units that could catch fire.

Fire-sniffing dogs were brought in early Saturday to assist. The structure is a total loss

The East Stake Presidency wrote on Facebook that they received a call around 2:30 a.m. about the fire.

“The building that we were so anticipating moving into over the next few months is gone,” the East Stake Presidency wrote in a Facebook message. “Those that were up watching it burn were stunned and in complete shock. Our faith is only strengthened as we work through this bump in the road.”

 We were deeply saddened to have received a call at 2:30am informing us that our new St. George East Stake Center was on fire. The building that we were so anticipating moving into over the next few months is gone. Those that were up watching it burn were stunned and in complete shock. Our faith is only strengthened as we work through this bump in the road.

UPDATE:
The St. George East Stake Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the members that they serve are humbled by the outpouring of love, kindness, and support in a charitable act of brotherhood and sisterhood on this difficult day. Supporting us in this time of trial regardless of faith, denomination, race or creed is to be commended and is very much appreciated...so we thank those who have verbalized and demonstrated to us the best that humanity has to offer!!!

Here are a few questions that we have been asked by the public and those in social media:

1) Where was the Stake Center (meetinghouse) located?: Downtown St. George, across the street from the historic St. George LDS Temple.

2) Was the building occupied? No. The Stake Center was in the process of being rebuilt from the ground up and was within 2-3 months of occupancy. The interior was nearly completed with construction in the painting process. No furnishings or artwork were installed at this point.

3) Will the Stake Center be rebuilt? Yes. It is the intent of local church leaders that the Stake Center will be rebuilt.

4) How long will it take for the Stake Center to be rebuilt? Our best guess given the investigation process, demolition and rebuild, that this process will likely take between 18-24 months.

5) Who is going to pay for the rebuild of the Stake Center? While the Stake Presidency is not directly involved with the financing of the construction of its local church properties, it is anticipated that the Church's construction department will work with the insurances involved in the construction of the building to work out those details.

6) Do we know how the fire started? According to reporting news outlets, local law enforcement have announced today that “We are treating it as a crime right now,” These same local media also report that, "the fire started in the exterior of the building where there’s no source of heat or electricity, which indicates it was likely set intentionally. K-9 officers sniffing the scene also found evidence that indicates it was likely intentional."

7) How long will the investigation last? As a Stake Presidency, we have not been given any timeline as to how long the investigation will last. 

Authorities: St. George stake center fire intentionally set

ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — Authorities say a fire that heavily damaged a new building for the St. George East Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was intentionally set.   St. George Fire Department officials say the blaze started about 1 a.m. Saturday and burned quickly through the ceiling and attic.  

They say a fire sprinkler system was installed but not yet functional in the building, which was expected to be finished in about a month.

City fire officials tell the Deseret News that burn patterns suggest the blaze was started using some sort of fuel.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is helping with the fire investigation. The original East Stake Center was built by local church members in the 1960s and was demolished to build the new building.