‘No reason to believe’ Funderland fire was arson, investigators say

Arson has been ruled out by investigators looking into the Tuesday evening fire that destroyed the concession stand at Sacramento’s Funderland children’s amusement park.

“There is no reason to believe it arson,” said Chris Harvey, a spokesman for the Sacramento Fire Department.

While the fire spared other parts of the park, including its carnival-like rides such as the Funderland miniature train, the park will be closed at least until Thursday as the city-owned facility in Land Park is cleaned.

“Funderland will be temporarily closed today while we recover from a fire in our concession area. We anticipate reopening Thursday, September 28th, and look forward to resuming the operation of our rides!” the site wrote on its facebook page. “Special thanks to Sacramento City Fire Department for their quick response!”

The Fire Department was called at 8:48 p.m., several hours after the gates were closed. No one was in the building at the time of the fire and no firefighters were injured in battling the single alarm fire. The fire was out in about 20 minutes, Harvey said. The small building was severely damaged in the fire, Harvey said.

Funderland opened in 1946. Its nine rides include a small roller coaster, an airplane ride and a carousel that generations of Sacramento children have enjoyed.

This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 11:52 AM with the headline "‘No reason to believe’ Funderland fire was arson, investigators say."