(CNN) - A "suspicious" fire devastated the church attended by Alaska Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Friday night in her hometown of Wasilla, the church's minister said.
"We have no idea what caused it," the Rev. Larry Kroon of the Wasilla Bible Church said Saturday, adding that investigators were considering arson and other possible causes.
A ladies' craft group was in the building when the fire broke out, but they got out safely, Kroon said.
"No one was hurt," he said.
Central Mat-Su Fire Department Chief James Steele said the department was "treating it as suspicious and as potential arson at this point" but did not elaborate, The Anchorage Daily News reported.
The newspaper said Palin released a statement after the fire in which she said she stopped by the church Saturday morning and offered an apology to the assistant pastor "if the incident is in any way connected to the undeserved negative attention the church has received since she became a vice presidential candidate."
From CNN Politics
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The Church Lady would ask "whooooo could it be? SATAN?!?"
Set by a witch doctor...
Good. The turkey got even. I still don't believe that both of them, her and Greta stood there for the interview in front of that turkey slaughter machine and they didn't knew about it.
This is just awful! I am not a Sarah supporter politically, but she and the rest of the people in her congregation did not deserve this! They're in my thoughts and hopefully someone with some money will step up and offer to rebuild.
Got to be those crack head america hating liberals who done this. Palin 2012!
I guess God has once again given retribution to what's her name for all the lies and hate she told and provoked.
First, on election night when Obama won and now the center of hate has burned!
even witchdoctor churches deserve not to be burned. what's the matter with this country?
This idiot thinks it has to do with her FAILED V.P. run.lololololol Idiot did you ever think it could have been just the electrical?
I really hope that this has nothing to do with the fact that Sarah Palin attends this church. I voted for Obama but I think that Sarah Palin is a good person at heart and it would be pretty sad if someone feels the need to do something like this to make some sort of sad statement. Anyone who would chose to have a child who they know would be sick has a huge heart and deserve at least some respect based on that alone.
Wow!
Palin-hate and Palin-haters at work?
Or just faulty wiring?
Hopefully it's the wiring and not a new brand of church-burners.
Church-burning should make everyone in America cringe.
I do not like her politics at all but it is a shame that someone would do this. As humans, we all should be above this petty offenses
No why should she apologize?? She thinks its all about her? Get a life woman!!
And this is why you burn the witches OUTSIDE, folks...
Maybe she should have made sure it was arson before taking "credit" for it...but that's our Sarah!
If it was arson, the culprit should go away for a long, long time. No matter what you think about Palin, this type of act has no place in society.
humm...wonder if this is God's will.....
While I think Palin was not the right person for Vice President this is horrible if started on purpose to somehow attack her.
I hope this was just an accident but I have a feeling some left wing nutjob did this and I hope they are punished for it.
This is a warped world we live in.
Maybe a result of all the incendiary remarks she made during the campaign. Nice work there, Moosellini!
I hope it was an accident. Regardless of political views, no one should do a horrible thing like that to a place of worship.
Maybe the left will finally learn that racist and bigoted actions happen from both sides. The days of thinking of the right as the small minded racist ideology are over. There are idiots on both sides of the aisle.
I am by no means a Palin fan, not by a long shot, but this is horrible. How are you going to burn down a community church because you don't agree with a member of it? I really hope they catch whoever did it. If it was someone local, it shouldn't be too hard since the population is virtually nonexistent.
Thank god no one was hurt.
Wow. what some people will do to keep their names in the press.
As much as I do not like her, this is not good if this is arson. Nobody should be setting fire to a place of worshoip.
What goes around comes around. If it was done to attack Palin and her right wing "Christian" friends, they (she) only has herself to blame after all the hate she spewed in just a few months.
Obama/Biden 2012