Salpointe Catholic High School is closed until further notice because of damage from a fire Sunday night that a fire official estimated could cost millions of dollars to repair.
The cause of the fire was not known as of Monday afternoon.
Michael Colaianni, spokesman for the Tucson Fire Department, said Monday it was too early in the investigation to narrow down the exact origin or cause of the fire. There were no injuries reported.
“There are multiple theories, but we can’t rule anything out right now. The investigation is very much still active when it comes to determining a cause,” Colaianni said.
TFD wrote on Twitter that it was dispatched to the two-alarm fire at Salpointe at 8:10 p.m., and the first units arrived by 8:14 p.m. The fire was under control at 9:12 p.m.
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In a news release, the school said the fire started in the attic space above the 700 English wing on campus, which suffered significant damage.
There was also smoke and water damage throughout the 300 and 400 wings.
“Campus is closed until further notice, and all activities are canceled,” the school said in its Monday statement. “This is a devastating and unexpected setback. However, we will come together as a Salpointe community, and we will meet this challenge.”
“As of today, we hope to start school on Aug. 8 as planned. We have no plans to switch to remote learning,” the news release said.
The buildings are still being assessed for damages, but Colaianni said the repair costs could be expected to run in the millions, based on the building size and amount of work that would be needed for full repairs.
Salpointe Catholic High is at 1545 E. Copper St. The 700 wing, according to a campus map, is situated near an employee parking area on the southeast corner of the campus. The 400 and 300 wings are directly north and northwest of it.
Have any questions or news tips about K-12 education in Southern Arizona? Contact reporter Genesis Lara at glara@tucson.com