Ernesto Salas, chief of a group of Kizh Nation Indians leads a ceremony honouring their ancestors beside the statue of Father Junipero Serra which stands in front of the San Gabriel Mission in San Gabriel, California on September 23, 2015 moments aft SAN GABRIEL, Calif. - A four-alarm fire at the historic San Gabriel Mission demolished the 249-year-old structure's wooden roof and much of its interior early Saturday morning.
A fire alarm at 4:25 a.m. sent firefighters to 428 S. Mission Road, where arriving firefighters reported a large column of smoke and fire coming from the corner of the roof, said Capt.
Antonio Negrete of the San Gabriel Fire Department. "During the course of the fire, portions of the roof fell upon the firefighters,".