Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor SAN GABRIEL - More than 90 firefighters knocked down a four-alarm fire that destroyed a building under construction Sunday morning.
The roadway continues to be closed between Palm Avenue and Euclid Avenue during the investigation, according to the City of San Gabriel. Firefighters arriving to the scene in the 300 block of West Valley Boulevard just before 3:30 a.m. June 11 reported flames more than 40 feet high and the entire building was engulfed, according to the San Gabriel Fire Department. Two nearby buildings were evacuated as a precaution. No one was injured and no nearby structures were damaged, according to the San Gabriel Fire Department. “Currently, power has been restored to affected neighborhoods. There are reports of ash and debris throughout the city. Athens Services has been and will be conducting street sweeping to clear debris off roads,” according to the San Gabriel Fire Department in a written statement. Assisting San Gabriel firefighters were firefighters from Alhambra, Monterey Park, Montebello, San Marino, Arcadia, Pasadena, Glendale and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Investigators with the Verdugo Arson Task Force are determining the cause. Written by AARON CASTREJON CityWatch Editor SAN GABRIEL - A man already convicted of an arson fire was deemed a suspect in the blaze that caused tremendous destruction at the Mission San Gabriel last July, investigators announced Tuesday.
John David Corey Jr., 57, is facing two felony counts of arson of an inhabited structure, one count each of arson during a state of emergency, first-degree residential burglary and possession of flammable material, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Corey was sentenced to three years in a San Gabriel arson fire that sparked after the destruction of Mission San Gabriel, investigators said in a written statement “It was during this separate incident that investigators deemed Mr. Corey a person of interest in the Mission San Gabriel case. After a thorough investigation, investigators determined that Corey was responsible for the fire at the Mission San Gabriel,” investigators said in a written statement. The Verdugo Arson Task Force, the Los Angeles Fire Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives worked together to investigate the fire, according to the City of San Gabriel in a previous SGV CityWatch story. Firefighters responded to investigate a fire alarm at the mission, 428 S. Mission Dr., at 4:24 a.m. July 11, 2020. It took firefighters more than two hours to knock down the massive blaze. Firefighters attempted to make an aggressive attack on the flames from inside of the mission, but falling debris forced firefighters to go into defensive mode, according to Captain Antonio Negrete of the San Gabriel Fire Department. The roof was completely destroyed as well as much of the interior. No firefighters were injured. 50 firefighters and 12 fire companies from surrounding cities worked to extinguish the flames. Firefighters declared the flames knocked down at 6:48 a.m., Negrete told SGV CityWatch. Founded September 6, 1771, the mission was undergoing renovations in the time leading up to the arson to repair the nave walls and the pews were removed for refinishing and refurbishment, according to the San Gabriel Mission website. The current church structure was completed in 1805. Corey faces a possible maximum sentence of 14 years in prison if convicted as charged. |
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