Tuesday, April 16, 2002

Archers lose equipment, clubhouse in weekend fire
By Mary Schubert
Staff Writer

PASADENA -- Archery enthusiasts lost their 67-year-old clubhouse and all of their equipment in a fire that broke out in the middle of the night over the weekend in the lower Arroyo Seco.

The Pasadena Roving Archers had occupied the one-story, 900-square-foot building since 1935. Targets are scattered throughout the property, at the bottom of a hill near Arroyo Boulevard and Norwood Drive.

The cause of the blaze, reported at 4:53 a.m. Saturday, hasn't been determined but Pasadena Fire Department investigators ruled it "incendiary" in origin, said Battalion Chief Fred Law.

"We know that it was not accidental. Somebody started it," Law said.

On Monday, club member Tony Henkels salvaged what he could from the fire-gutted wood-frame and stucco building.

"We lost everything 100 percent down the tubes," Henkels said as he surveyed the charred remains. "They were partying down here, whoever did it."

The clubhouse is at the bottom of a narrow, tree-lined road, set against a green hillside next to the concrete Arroyo Seco channel.

Bales of hay, which absorb the arrows that strike the targets, were scorched and strewn about. A rear wall was reduced to a heap of cinder blocks, knocked out during the firefighting effort.

"There were beer bottles all over there, and a big bunch of matches on the table," Henkels said, sifting through a pile of blackened club trophies.

Fire Department officials estimated the damage at $25,000 to the structure and $5,000 to the contents, Law said.

San Gabriel resident Sid Chamberlain, a former club member who still shoots at the range, saw the aftermath Saturday morning. The club holds its weekly class there.

"They were just standing around dumbfounded," Chamberlain said. "Everything had either melted or burned to a crisp."

The club has about 90 members.

Sixth-grader Lucas Woods and his father, Steven, joined about two months ago.

"I'm very interested in the Middle Ages," said 12-year-old Lucas, a Polytechnic School student. "So I thought it would be cool to do archery."

He caught on pretty quickly, thanks to the free instruction provided by experienced club members. "They're really nice and very helpful," Lucas said.

Earlier this month, his parents bought him his own bow and arrows so he didn't have to borrow the club's equipment.

"I was just like really surprised and amazed, and I was kind of sad because it had burned down," Lucas said. "I really hope that the city helps restore it."

-- Mary Schubert can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4456 or by e-mail at mary.schubert@sgvn.com.