GOLD BAR – A two-alarm fire gutted the city’s only church building Sunday, one month after the congregation celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Flames scorched the walls of the Mountain Valley Chapel from its basement to its historic bell tower. Smoke filled the sanctuary where generations came to pray.
But the fire did not touch the faith that’s filled the building for a century.
“This is very sad, but we’re not losing hope now. God’s got something planned for us,” said Leslie Smith, wife of pastor Michael Smith.
Fire investigators are trying to determine what caused the blaze but say it started inside the wall between the basement and sanctuary.
The fire caused an estimated $700,000 worth of damage, acting Snohomish County Fire Marshal Ed Hardesty said.
A teenage boy riding his bike noticed the fire at 10:50 p.m. Sunday and pedaled to the Snohomish County sheriff’s station a few blocks away.
A deputy used a fire extinguisher on the flames, but couldn’t stop the blaze, said Fire District 26 Chief Eric Andrews.
Volunteer firefighters from Gold Bar along with those from Monroe, Sultan and Clearview rushed to church, but were unable to keep the fire from reaching the attic.
“When you have that wood from the 1900s, it’s pretty tinder dry, and it goes up fast,” Andrews said.
The chapel’s metal roof made the fire especially difficult to extinguish, Andrews said. Firefighters needed to cut through the roof to reach the flames in the attic.
Firefighters saved the church’s Bible, its pulpit and the cross that hung in the sanctuary, Leslie Smith said. They even pulled out its piano and other musical instruments.
Yet the damage disappointed church members who’d spent weeks repainting and remodeling the landmark white church for its centennial.
That work included creating a new room for the church’s growing youth group in the basement, which was damaged by the fire.
The group is just one of the church’s many efforts to connect with the community, members said. The building is open five nights a week.
“The church is the hub of the town,” said Marie Picklesimer, who’s attended for more than 40 years.
The fire is the third and largest in the church’s history, she said. Each time, the church was restored, as it will be now.
Members came Monday to see the damage, bringing cookies, soup and offers to help rebuild. A prayer service was planned for Monday night.
“This is a family to me,” said Deborah Nelson, who lives within blocks of the church and has attended for 14 years. “I’ve raised my four kids with people here. It’s like a second home.”
The Christian congregation, now 125 members, purchased the building in 1943 and called it Open Bible Standard Church. Its name was later changed to Mountain Valley Chapel.
“It’s a little church, but it has a big heart,” said Leslie Smith, whose husband was hunting in the Wenatchee area and couldn’t be reached until Monday afternoon.
Church member David Cutler, who helped remodel the building, said its bell tower – where the church bell rang at 9 a.m. every Sunday – will have to come down. The sanctuary also suffered extensive water damage, he said.
“It’s going to be OK. We’ll be back,” Cutler said. “Just wait until you see how beautiful it’s going to be when we’re done.”
Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@heraldnet.com.
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