By Linda Kor Residents of Winslow awoke Friday morning, Oct. 10, to the startling news that overnight three buildings in their city had been targeted for arson. According to the Winslow Police Department, events began to unfold at 2:25 a.m. when firefighters and law enforcement responded to a structural fire reported at Clarke’s Cleaners, located at 402 W. Second St. As they worked to gain control of the blaze a second call came in at 3:23 a.m. for a structural fire at the Masonic Lodge just eight blocks away at 315 N. Kinsley Ave. Additional help was called in, including the city’s street department, the Joseph City and Holbrook fire departments, arson investigators from the Flagstaff Fire Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. An hour later, at 4:24 a.m., yet another call came in that the former Woman’s Club building at 103 E. Cherry Street was ablaze. As efforts were stretched over three separate fires a search was also taking place for possible suspects. During the course of the morning police located and arrested three suspects, Chad Lapointe, 20, Erik Nelson, 20, and Steven Gonzales, 18, all Winslow residents. “Each of the buildings was fully engulfed, but luckily there were no people in any of the buildings,” stated Winslow City Manager Steve Pauken. Ken Evans, Senior Steward of Winslow Masonic Lodge No. 13, noted that the lodge is nearly a total loss and said a conservative estimate would be that actual damages will run about $3.5 million, but many of the items lost had a value beyond monetary. The building was the third location for the Winslow Masons, who first formed the lodge in 1896 and gathered at the Palace Hotel, then in the upstairs rooms of the Elks Lodge before building their own lodge in 1923. The lodge contained valuable antiques built by the M.C. Lilly & Company, which at the time cost $1,200. “These were very ornate Masonic furnishings with Middle East designs and Masonic symbolism referencing King Solomon’s Temple from the 1896 World Fair. We lost an altar, two pillars and three chairs, as well as a wood and marble station. We also lost our regalia from the 1800s, as well as the regalia from the Order of the Eastern Star and Commandery of Knights Templar,” stated Evans. “The Joseph City, Holbrook and Winslow fire departments all worked together like a fabulous machine, and helped to protect the neighborhoods and prevent the fires from spreading. While doing that they managed to save our archives and records from the first floor, and pulled photos from the walls, as well as an entire display of first edition Bibles. These items were wet, but they were able to keep them from being super soaked,” added Evans, who works at Homolovi State Park, where he utilized an emergency freezer so that the documents could be frozen before developing mold. Despite the massive loss, Evans was positive that the lodge will be rebuilt and that the programs conducted by the lodge will continue uninterrupted. “Each year we do Clothe A Child that provides $100 for each child to use at Walmart to purchase socks, shoes, pants, shirts and a jacket. Last year we were able to serve 20 to 40 kids. We will also continue with the scholarship program and our other ongoing charitable work. The goal of the lodge has been and will continue to be to strengthen the community, preserve our country’s freedoms and support our families. “These men did a terrible thing, but we will continue on. This could have been much worse. Luckily, there was no one hurt. We won’t be able to replace the items that were lost, but we will rebuild,” he said. According to Pauken, the former Woman’s Club building had been vacant for some time, but Clarke’s Cleaner is one of the older businesses in the community and had been in operation. “I’m not going to speculate as to the amount of damage that occurred. The fire inspectors and insurance adjusters will decide that, but it looks substantial,” he said, after expressing gratitude to all the agencies that assisted in the effort to put out the blazes. All three suspects have been booked into Navajo County Jail, and are charged with burglary, criminal damage and arson of an unoccupied structure. The case remains under investigation as police work to determine a motive behind the fires.