UPDATE: San Pedro Elks Lodge Partially Destroyed in ‘Suspicious’ Fire (Photos)

Posted by SPB Staff on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 · 2 Comments

The San Pedro Elks Lodge suffered a devastating fire Tuesday morning. (photo: Chris Villanueva)

San Pedro’s iconic Elks Lodge was partially destroyed Tuesday morning in a devastating fire that officials are calling “suspicious” in nature.

The lodge, located at 1748 Cumbre Dr. in San Pedro, suffered massive damage to the main dining hall, the legendary bar area and other rooms in the multilevel structure. Firefighters were able to save the ritual hall and some of its priceless heirlooms inside.

More than 100 firefighters were called to the scene to put out the fire, which started at approximately 3 a.m.

This was the second fire at the lodge in less than a week. Another fire was reported on Sunday morning around 6 a.m. Arson investigators are on the scene to investigate if there was any foul play involved.

“They thought it was like dawn. There was that much fire blowing through the rooftops,” LAFD Battalion Chief Steve Ruda told NBCLA. “[These were] two fires close together, officials are going to take a good hard look at this building and the possibility of [the fires] being suspicious.”

San Pedro Elks Exalted Ruler, José Chavez, stood outside the rubble of the landmark structure clutching the 109-year-old Bible from the ritual hall that was saved by firefighters.

“We know it’s arson. Someone had it out for us,” Chavez told Fox 11’s Gigi Graciette.

BREAKING: Exalted Ruler of San Pedro #Elks tells me “We know it’s arson. Someone had it out for us” @myfoxla pic.twitter.com/V6RQkQaKMQ

— Gigi Graciette (@GigiGraciette) April 15, 2014

“I’m so elated that firefighters were able to save our lodge room and save this Bible,” Chavez said to NBCLA while holding back tears. “I’ve been holding this since 3 o’clock this morning.”

According to Chavez, The Bible has been signed by every Exalted Ruler, including three times by Chavez, since 1905.

Chris Villanueva, a local photojournalist, was at the scene of the fire and witnessed the structure collapse. “It’s just so sad,” he said. “Watching the roof collapse was really hard to watch. And now they’re saying it was possibly arson? That just makes it so much worse.”

UPDATE: Councilman Joe Buscaino has released a statement on the Elks Lodge fire:

I share the sense off loss with all San Pedrans as we woke up to the news that our iconic Elks Club has burned down.

— Joe Buscaino (@JoeBuscaino) April 15, 2014

UPDATE 9:55 a.m. – The Daily Breeze has posted photos of the interior damage to the ritual hall.

UPDATE 10:52 a.m. – More from Councilman Buscaino: “The Elks Lodge in San Pedro is more than just an iconic place with spectacular views of our hometown. It is a place where the community gathers to create lifelong memories that can never be taken away. The Elks Lodge will be rebuilt and become better than ever and serve our community for generations to come. This incident will only serve to make San Pedro and the entire Elks family stronger.”

UPDATE 1 p.m. – A Facebook page has been set up in support of rebuilding the San Pedro Elks Lodge.