Southern California was met by an early morning Saturday fire that caused massive damage to the nearly 250-year-old San Gabriel Mission Church, a historic landmark dating to the late 1700s.

Fire alarms at the California church rang at around four in the morning. When firefighters came, they saw smoke coming from the wooden rooftop in the building's corner, San Gabriel Fire Capt. Paul Negrete said in a report from Associated Press.

Angelus News said the fire was reported at around 4:30 a.m. and looked like it broke out at the church's back. Some fire departments came to help, and the burning was out soon after.

Fire officials checked the church's damage but did not say what may have caused the fire, NBC Los Angeles reported.

There was no evidence of arson, and the fire officials said no one was injured.

The extent of the Damage

"It's heartbreaking," Negrete said to Los Angeles Times.

While fighting off the flames, firefighters had to go back when pieces of roofing and other structural materials began to fall, Negrete said.

He said they tried to fight the fire from the inside, but it became unsafe.

Negrete said the roof of the 50-foot structure was completely gone. Officials said the fire burned down the wood very fast, and most of the inside was destroyed up to the altar area.

The church's floors, walls, and ceiling were original.

"Friends, I was deeply troubled to learn that the historic San Gabriel Mission church in Los Angeles was seriously damaged by a fire early this morning," auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Robert Barron tweeted.

Archbishop José H. Gómez was there at 10 in the morning after the devastating fire consumed the church. He posted photos of the damage, and one showed the deterioration of the building from the inside.

Since the church was currently being renovated for its 250th anniversary next year, the historical paintings and artifacts were not in the church at the time of the fire, said spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

History and Controversy

The San Gabriel Mission church was founded in 1771. It was a site of significant historical importance in Southern California and considered one of California's best-preserved missions.

The altar that was also the original one was almost caught in the fire. It was handcrafted in Mexico City and brought to San Gabriel Mission in the 1790s.

The inside of the church was also filled with pieces of historical importance. Handcrafted statues brought to Southern California from Spain in the 1790s were in the building.

It was the fourth mission founded in California by Franciscan priest Junipero Serra. The church praised him for bringing Roman Catholicism in the western United States, but critics also look at his legacy's dark side.

The Roman Catholic founder priest was criticized. He was said to force Native Americans into abandoning their culture to avoid brutal punishment.

The 2015 decision to elevate him to sainthood did not sit well with critics and opened old wounds.

Local reports said statues of Serra were getting toppled and defaced during protests for social justice. The San Gabriel Mission moved their bronze statue of Serra to someplace out of public view.

These incidents will be considered by fire officials when doing the investigation.

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