Breaking: Arson at Sarah Palin's church (Wizbang)

No sign yet of whether or not it's related to Palin's vice presidential run. A suspicious fire broke out at Wasilla Bible Church, causing around $1 million in damages.

Investigators say arson caused a fire that badly damaged the former church of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin late Friday night and into early Saturday morning.

The blaze at the Wasilla Bible Church broke out as a group of women made crafts inside. It is not yet known if the church was targeted because of Palin's affiliation. Palin's spokesperson, Bill McAllister, issued a statement on her behalf after she visited the church on Saturday.

"(Palin) told an assistant pastor that she apologizes if the incident is in any way connected to the undeserved negative attention the church has received since she became a vice presidential candidate on Aug. 29. Whatever the motives of the arsonist, the governor has faith in the scriptural passage that what was intended for evil will in some way be used for good."

Church members are in shock and have with unanswered questions after what Mat-Su firefighters called the biggest fire of the year. It's a place of worship to more than a thousand people in the Valley.

But investigators say it's too early to tell who did what and why.

"At this point in time I can't go into those details since it is an active investigation," Central Mat-Su Fire Department Chief James Steele said.

They did say the fire started on the outside of the back of the building with a handful of people inside around 10 p.m.

But the blaze badly damaged what many considered to be a new building, built just three years ago, to the tune of an estimated $1 million.

"At least the floor in one area has actually dropped approximately two feet," Steele said.

But the church pastor is focusing on the bigger picture.

"I've had a lot worst calls at night," Pastor Larry Kroon said. "When one of your parishioners dies or loses a child, it's a whole different thing than the building's on fire."

Besides a new venue for services, Kroon says the fire changes nothing.

"Chose faith, live with hope and keep caring about people," he said. "That's what we'll do."

Unless the vandals who did this are caught, then we're not likely to find out if Sarah Palin's vice presidential run was actually the motive behind this or not. Unfortunately, given what we've seen from anti-Palin fanatics, it's not a far stretch to think it might very well be just that. It's a miracle that the women inside the church when the fire was started weren't injured.

Still, this is a terrible story and I hope whoever did this rots in prison for a long, long time.

Hat Tip: Hot Air

Comments (14)

This type of thing happens ... (Below threshold)

1. Posted by tyree | December 14, 2008 4:12 PM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)

tyree:

This type of thing happens with alarming regularity. Within 5 miles of my home there are two churches that were torched. The MSM and the Democrats in general don't seem concerned about this growing threat to religion in America.

Posted on December 14, 2008 16:12

More than likely, it was an... (Below threshold)

2. Posted by Hermie | December 14, 2008 5:05 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)

Hermie:

More than likely, it was an outsider. In a town that size, if a native did it, somebody would know about it and the culprit will be in custody within a couple of days.

The ones who burnt the church will be caught, as that was a crime that nobody is tolerant of. I say that within a week, somebody in town will remember a strange vehicle or suspicious character(s), and the state cops will track the arsonist down.

Posted on December 14, 2008 17:05

The left is going nuts. Wel... (Below threshold)

3. Posted by WildWillie | December 14, 2008 5:45 PM | Score: 3 (5 votes cast)

WildWillie:

The left is going nuts. Well, more nuts. ww

Posted on December 14, 2008 17:45

If the fire investigation p... (Below threshold)

4. Posted by Paul Hooson | December 14, 2008 5:48 PM | Score: -2 (6 votes cast)

Paul Hooson:

If the fire investigation proves out to be politically motivated arson, then I strongly condemn this violent act of terror. This is an entirely unacceptable act of terror against a house of worship.

Here in Oregon, the state is wrestling not only with the snowstorm, but also with a deadly bombing at a bank that killed two policemen, wounded a police chief and also a female bank teller. There have been at least four threats against banks in the last couple of days, including this outrageous deadly act of domestic terror.

I hope that local and federal agencies quickly find a successful investigation in both the Alaska and Oregon events.

Posted on December 14, 2008 17:48

tyree, the MSM seems to car... (Below threshold)

5. Posted by Mike | December 14, 2008 5:49 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)

Mike:

tyree, the MSM seems to care a great deal when Black churches are involved, otherwise not so much.

Police officers and arson investigators will tell you that churches are usually targeted out of anger -- either a parishioner is angry with the church specifically, or a member of the community is angry with God or religion at large, and chooses a highly influential church as a target for his anger.

Either way, in a small town the truth usually does not remain hidden very long. I hope that the offenders are apprehended quickly.

Posted on December 14, 2008 17:49

You know, I have to ask the... (Below threshold)

6. Posted by MunDane | December 14, 2008 10:20 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)

MunDane:

You know, I have to ask the question, can Andrew Sullivan PROVE where he was Friday night?

Posted on December 14, 2008 22:20

Palin claimed alonge the ca... (Below threshold)

7. Posted by Deo | December 15, 2008 2:44 AM | Score: -5 (5 votes cast)

Deo:

Palin claimed alonge the campaign trail that she was not a member of any church. You can google those words and come up with the article.

Posted on December 15, 2008 02:44

Palin claimed alon... (Below threshold)

8. Posted by Eric | December 15, 2008 6:07 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

Eric:

Read the very first sentence of the article, very closely.

Investigators say arson caused a fire that badly damaged the former church of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin late Friday night and into early Saturday morning.

You can Google the word Dictionary, the very first entry is a good one.

former
-adjective
1. preceding in time; prior or earlier: during a former stage in the proceedings.
2. past, long past, or ancient: in former times.
3. preceding in order; being the first of two: Our former manufacturing process was too costly.
4. being the first mentioned of two (distinguished from latter ): The former suggestion was preferred to the latter.
5. having once, or previously, been; erstwhile: a former president.

Posted on December 15, 2008 06:07

Deo, I Googled "alonge" and... (Below threshold)

9. Posted by Oyster | December 15, 2008 6:18 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)

Oyster:

Deo, I Googled "alonge" and couldn't find anything about Palin.

Posted on December 15, 2008 06:18

Astonishing. Hooson was qui... (Below threshold)

10. Posted by Jay Tea | December 15, 2008 7:58 AM | Score: 1 (3 votes cast)

Jay Tea:

Astonishing. Hooson was quick to ascribe the Oregon bank bombing to "right-wing terrorists," completely out of nowhere, but here he's downplaying any political overtones.

And he's still not admitted he was completely off-base when he talked about Saddam's execution being public. He built an entire argument out of that lie, then blithely ignored the corrections.