Spa Gutted in 2nd Arson at Strip Mall

Two fires at the same Laguna Hills strip mall--the second of which destroyed a spa early Sunday morning--were both set by arsonists, investigators said.

Orange County Fire Authority investigators were called to a blaze at 12:15 a.m. Sunday at the Body Centre, a spa and massage center at 24371 Avenida de la Carlota, Fire Authority Capt. Paul Hunter said.

The building, which is in a strip mall, was engulfed in flames when they arrived.

About 70 firefighters, armed with 10 engines and three large ladder trucks, had the fire under control at 1:06 a.m., Hunter said.

“It was totally gutted,” Hunter said.

The business was closed when the fire started, and no one was injured.

Including damage to the roof and ceiling of an adjacent optometrist’s office, the fire caused about $1 million in damage. About $850,000 of that was damage to the building.

Hunter said investigators have determined that the fire was intentionally set just as an earlier fire was set at the same business the day before Thanksgiving. The earlier fire caused minimal damage, Hunter said.