THOUSAND OAKS : Cause of Fire at Temple Unknown

Fire investigators said Tuesday that they may never know what caused the blaze that destroyed much of an annex to the Conejo Valley Masonic Temple in Thousand Oaks.

Larry Titus, chief fire investigator for Ventura County, said that although the fire could have been deliberately set, nothing can be proved “unless somebody steps forward” with evidence.

Titus said fire crews had to destroy much of the building to fight the fire, so any evidence or clues of how the fire got started were also lost.

The blaze broke out shortly before midnight Saturday and caused more than $200,000 in damage to the building and equipment. Titus said flames apparently broke out in an open storage shed adjoining the annex.

The annex housed the temple’s kitchen, meeting room and office. Unharmed in the blaze was the temple lodge, which is in an old church a few steps from the annex.

“We’re sick about it, but we’re happy that we didn’t have more problems,” said Tom Bolton, temple master.

Bolton and about 25 other volunteers worked Tuesday to salvage items used in ceremonies by various Masonic organizations.

As Bolton talked to a visitor, someone handed him his copy of “The Master’s Handbook,” a temple master’s guide that had been found in the debris. The fire had charred the spine and the edges of the pages, but Bolton still could read the book.

“We can beat this,” Bolton said. “If we’d had lost the lodge, we’d have really been in tough shape, because then we’d have had to look for new facilities.” The board of directors will meet Monday to work out a rebuilding plan, Bolton said.

The Masonic temple has used the property since 1963. Although the lodge is covered by insurance, Bolton said renovations may be expensive. The buildings are so old that they do not comply with current building and safety codes, which may have to be met if any renovations are done.

Firefighters had to break through the front and back walls of the annex with a bulldozer to fight the blaze. But they managed to rescue one important possession: a Wurlitzer organ that had been donated only months before.

It now sits in a back storage room, its white keys covered with gray soot but otherwise playable.