Several small, family-owned businesses in Whittier are reeling after their restaurants and shops went up in a fiery inferno last week, leaving them destroyed in an incident that authorities believe was possibly arson.
The Sept. 10 blaze in the 13500 block of Telegraph Road, near Mills Avenue was reported just before 2:30 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
While it only took firefighters a half hour to contain the blaze, much of the shopping center was destroyed, including Pizzamania and El Camino Family Restaurant, both of which have been in the community for decades.
Bill Pilkington, the general manager of Pizzamania, as well as other business owners in the shopping center, have no idea why someone would be compelled to set the fire.
“I can’t fathom what would cause someone to do this,” he told KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff.
Damon Brown, with El Camino Family Restaurant, echoed the frustration and confusion.
“It has hurt every day since this happened,” he said.