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While the motive behind the fire that heavily damaged the Taoist Temple Museum is still being investigated, authorities said Wednesday that anti-Asian sentiment does not seem to be a factor.
Suspect Maxine Montenegroâs reasons were probably not motivated by race, said Lt. James Lutz, public information officer for the Hanford Police Department. Lutz added that Montenegro, a transient, appears to have issues regarding substance abuse and mental health.
âWe have a lot of transients in that area in the evening,â Lutz said. âItâs kind of a throughway for the homeless.â
Montenegro was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the China Alley fire that took place on the night of May 12. The fire almost completely consumed the stairway leading to the altar room and destroyed many of the artifacts inside â artifacts that the museumâs director, Arianne Wing, said are priceless. Damage is estimated at around $500,000.
While investigating a fire that occurred at the Taoist Temple Museum on May 13, detectives were able to obtain video surveillance where a female can be seen sitting on the steps of the building smoking, authorities said, adding that the female appears to set items of clothing on fire.
Detectives, with the help from officers assigned to the HART Team (Homeless Assistance and Resource Team) spoke with transients that frequented the area and were able to identify the female as 37-year-old Maxine Montenegro, authorities said.Â
Felony charges of arson were submitted to the Kings County District Attorneyâs Office. Â
More information to come.Â
Once again I think Mom left me a cryptic message. Since her death in late March, Iâve been working hard to organize the fifty years of paperwork that chronicles Momâs life work as a community volunteer, preservationist, historian and docent. I have spent hours sorting through Momâs decades of paperwork, stacking, and refilling, sometime even shredding the nits and bits from the overflowing files and boxes.
Last week I was organizing her office supplies, stacking new legal pads, crisp manila envelopes, and fresh file folders in boxes, when I came across a well-worn folder. It seemed odd to find this dog-eared folder stuck in the middle of new ones. Momâs paperwork is cluttered, for sure, but I have noticed that there is some organization among the disorganization.
I am still grieving over the immeasurable loss of Mom, and now that grief has deepened with the inexpressible loss of Taoist Temple Museum artifacts due to a devastating fire two weeks ago. The fire nightmare still plays in my mind in an endless loop. I find myself, even now, shaking and crying as I type.
On Wednesday evening, May 12, Steve and I received a phone call around 10:30 p.m. alerting us that the Taoist Temple Museum was on fire. We rushed to the Alley, calling my brother, Damon, on the way.
Arriving at the Alley, I was terrified that all of our Sleeping Beauties would soon be engulfed in flames, the fire was so large that both the Hanford and Kings County fire departments were present. I took out my phone and started filming. Watching it later, I heard the howls and deep guttural sounds I was making as tears coursed down my face.