One of two fires that took place this past Summer north of Walnut, was declared to be an incident of arson. The State Fire Marshal’s Office reports the first fire at the Walnut Super 8 Motel on July 18^th, was declared accidental in nature. It began with an electrical conductor in the attic area of the two-story motel.

The second fire, which occurred the next day (July 19), was determined to have been caused by someone lighting combustible bedding material on fire in one of the second-floor motel rooms, and was classified as arson.

Several area fire departments responded to the both fires at 2109 Antique City Drive. There were no injuries reported. Authorities say pending additional information that would change the circumstances leading up to the fire events, the cases can be considered closed.