Calif. Mall Severely Damaged After Out-of-Control Fire

Published November 30, 2015

Oct. 21: Smoke billows out of the of the Roseville Galleria after a man entered a store earlier in the day and set the shop on fire in Roseville, Calif. (AP)

ROSEVILLE, Calif. -- An entire arm of a high-end mall outside Sacramento, Calif., has been damaged in a fire that spread out of control after a man who barricaded himself inside the building was arrested.

Officials say the Roseville Galleria could be closed or limited in operations for months because of Thursday's blaze, which caused part of the roof on the building's south end to collapse.

Authorities say the 1.3 million-square-foot mall was evacuated earlier, after the man holed up in a store and started what appeared at first to be a small fire.

Police said the blaze began spreading as members of the bomb squad were examining the man's backpack, forcing them to flee the building.

Police identified the man as 23-year-old Alexander Corney Pigee.

The man's mother, Mary Carter, told KCRA-3 in Sacramento that her son has mental health problems and recently lost his job.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/calif-mall-severely-damaged-after-out-of-control-fire