Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Suspected arson fire in La Mesa

Scorches porta potty at Sunshine Park

A fire reported at 5:41 a.m. on January 4 destroyed two portable toilets and the wood-shake roof of nearby restrooms at Sunshine Park, according to La Mesa Police Department lieutenant Ray Sweeney.

Restrooms at the park, located on the 4500 block of 70th Street, were closed for renovations and the two "porta potties were set up" next to the building, Sweeney said in an interview.

Firefighters and police responded to the call. While firefighters put out the blaze, police closed 70th Street south of Tower Street to traffic on both sides of the street.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Firefighters extinguished the fire at the park — which is adjacent to Rolando Elementary School — and police reopened the street at 6:59 a.m., Sweeney said. At that time, there was yellow crime-scene tape across the door to the men's restroom. Evidence of the incident included the charred restroom roof and streams of firefighting foam near the building, on park paths, and in the street. In addition, fire singed the corner of the brick restroom to a darker color.

In his capacity as watch commander, Sweeney said on January 4 that "not a lot was known" about the fire. Someone may have set the porta potties on fire and the flames spread to vegetation and from there to the roof of the restroom. Sweeney added that someone may have started the fire in a trashcan, an act done at several other locations near the La Mesa-San Diego border. Sweeney said these include the area near Amherst Street.

The Reader contacted Heartland Fire & Rescue, which serves La Mesa, to learn about the other fires. Monica Zech, Heartland spokeswoman, said in a January 7 interview that San Diego Fire-Rescue Metro Arson Strike Team was handling the investigation because more of the spot fires occurred in San Diego.

UPDATE: 1/9, 7:30 a.m.

San Diego Fire Department spokesman Lee Swanson provided information about the other fires in a January 8 interview.

Although he could not comment on the arson investigation, Swanson said that a palm tree on the 7050 block of Amherst Street was set on fire at 2:20 a.m. on January 4; the fire caused "some damage" to the adjacent residence. At about the same time, there was another tree fire at 72nd Street and El Cajon Boulevard: at 3 a.m., a trashcan on the 7120 block of Amherst Street was set ablaze.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans

A fire reported at 5:41 a.m. on January 4 destroyed two portable toilets and the wood-shake roof of nearby restrooms at Sunshine Park, according to La Mesa Police Department lieutenant Ray Sweeney.

Restrooms at the park, located on the 4500 block of 70th Street, were closed for renovations and the two "porta potties were set up" next to the building, Sweeney said in an interview.

Firefighters and police responded to the call. While firefighters put out the blaze, police closed 70th Street south of Tower Street to traffic on both sides of the street.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Firefighters extinguished the fire at the park — which is adjacent to Rolando Elementary School — and police reopened the street at 6:59 a.m., Sweeney said. At that time, there was yellow crime-scene tape across the door to the men's restroom. Evidence of the incident included the charred restroom roof and streams of firefighting foam near the building, on park paths, and in the street. In addition, fire singed the corner of the brick restroom to a darker color.

In his capacity as watch commander, Sweeney said on January 4 that "not a lot was known" about the fire. Someone may have set the porta potties on fire and the flames spread to vegetation and from there to the roof of the restroom. Sweeney added that someone may have started the fire in a trashcan, an act done at several other locations near the La Mesa-San Diego border. Sweeney said these include the area near Amherst Street.

The Reader contacted Heartland Fire & Rescue, which serves La Mesa, to learn about the other fires. Monica Zech, Heartland spokeswoman, said in a January 7 interview that San Diego Fire-Rescue Metro Arson Strike Team was handling the investigation because more of the spot fires occurred in San Diego.

UPDATE: 1/9, 7:30 a.m.

San Diego Fire Department spokesman Lee Swanson provided information about the other fires in a January 8 interview.

Although he could not comment on the arson investigation, Swanson said that a palm tree on the 7050 block of Amherst Street was set on fire at 2:20 a.m. on January 4; the fire caused "some damage" to the adjacent residence. At about the same time, there was another tree fire at 72nd Street and El Cajon Boulevard: at 3 a.m., a trashcan on the 7120 block of Amherst Street was set ablaze.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Gonzo Report: Eating dinner while little kids mock-mosh at Golden Island

“The tot absorbs the punk rock shot with the skill of experience”
Next Article

San Diego Dim Sum Tour, Warwick’s Holiday Open House

Events November 24-November 27, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader