LANCASTER : Arson Suspected in $150,000 School Fire

A fire broke out early Wednesday morning at a Lancaster elementary school, causing $150,000 damage to the structure, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

The fire damaged two kindergarten classrooms that were being upgraded at Del Sur Elementary School in the 9000 block of West Avenue H, said Regina Rossall, assistant superintendent of educational services for the Westside Union School District.

“I’ve been with the district for 22 years and this is the first time we have had any of our buildings destroyed,” Rossall said.

The cause of the fire was undetermined Wednesday, but arson was suspected, said Brian Jordan, a county fire inspector.

It took 35 firefighters less than an hour to extinguish the 1:37 a.m. blaze, Jordan said. No injuries were reported.

The fire did not disrupt classes, which are being held at a temporary site about five miles away because of a yearlong reconstruction project to make the school more energy-efficient, Rossall said.

Upgrades for the two classrooms that burned Wednesday were 60% complete, Rossall said. The reconstruction project will continue and school district officials plan to have the damaged classrooms ready for the 1993-94 school year, Rossall said. Two other classrooms sustained smoke damage, she said.

More than 800 kindergarten through eighth-grade students attend the school, Rossall said.