Fire department still investigating Wildomar fires

By: AARON CLAVERIE - Staff Writer
Two fires in small area in four months damaged Elks Lodge and VFW service clubs | Saturday, March 15, 2008 1:02 AM PDT ∞

WILDOMAR ---- The Riverside County fire department is still investigating the recent fires at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post building and the nearby Elks Lodge post, fire officials said Friday.

But, deflating the conspiracy theories swirling around the soon-to-be-city, the department is not calling it an arson investigation.

The fire at the VFW post on Waite Street swept into the building's attic and damaged the post's popular bar, forcing it to close. The fire was reported just after midnight on March 3 by someone driving by the building.

Firefighters were able to stop the fire from spreading to the main section of the building, where the post members hold meetings and events such as an upcoming pancake breakfast for Wildomar Young Marines.

In early November, a fire completely destroyed the Lake Elsinore Elks Lodge on Mission Trail. That fire was reported just after 5:30 a.m. The building recently was razed to keep out vandals and kids, who were reportedly rummaging through the wreckage looking for undamaged bottles of alcohol.

Both buildings, gathering spots frequented by area senior citizens and veterans, were located within a block of each other.

The proximity of the two fires and the coincidence of both fires damaging service club buildings has raised eyebrows in the Wildomar community, but Fire Capt. Fernando Herrera said Friday that the department has not made an official determination that the fires were deliberately set.

Some Wildomar residents who inspected the damage at the VFW building said there was some residue from an incendiary device found at the base of the corner of the building, where it looked like the fire started.

The vice chairwoman of the Wildomar city council-elect, Bridgette Moore, was at the VFW post the morning of the fire as members were cleaning up.

She said Friday that she heard from the very beginning from residents that the fires seemed suspicious.

But, she added, "We won't know until the investigation is final. I hope they continue and do a speedy investigation."

Herrera wouldn't say if residue from any device was found at the scene of the VFW post fire. He said whatever evidence was collected would have been sent to a lab for analysis.

"If they find anything they'll proceed with a normal investigation process," he said.

That process includes interviewing witnesses, if there are witnesses, and physical inspection of the fire's path and its likely genesis.

Talking about the stories swirling around Wildomar, Herrera said, "Just because two fires occurred near each other that doesn't mean they are the same type of fire or that someone or some person started it. It just depends and we can't jump to conclusions. It could be a coincidence."

Because the fire department's report can affect insurance company payouts and legal proceedings, the department has to be 100 percent sure before it releases the cause of a fire, he said.

"We're not going to go with innuendo or hearsay," he said. "There is a process and a methodology to follow. Sometimes an investigation can be very quick, cut and dry, while some investigations can take months."

Contact Aaron Claverie at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2624, or aclaverie@californian.com.

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