Authorities were investigating Tuesday, Dec. 19, what started the fire that destroyed Victory Outreach Pomona over the weekend.
The one-story church at 177 W. Monterey Ave. was deemed a total loss by firefighters.
No one was injured in the fire that was reported around 2:45 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 17, said Geovanni Sanchez, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He didn’t have an estimated value of the damage yet.
The blaze destroyed toys, too. The church’s planned toy giveaway on Sunday went ahead after donations of toys came from other churches, the California Highway Patrol, a car club called Southern Life, the LA County Fire Department and ABC7.
Public records show that the building was constructed in 1944 and had housed a previous church and a bank before Victory Outreach bought it in 2015.
Church officials plan to rebuild. A GoFundMe with a goal of $500,000 had raised more than $18,000 by Tuesday morning.
