The Wasilla Alaska church most often attended by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin since 2002, was the target of suspected arson last Friday night. The governor visited the church after the fire was controlled, and made a statement.

The Anchorage Daily News story Sunday, by reporters Wesley Loy and Rindi White, begins:

A Friday night fire at Gov. Sarah Palin’s church caused an estimated $1 million in damage, and investigators say it could be the work of an arsonist. Firefighters were called to Wasilla Bible Church about 9:40 p.m. and found flames and smoke coming out windows at the back of the three-story structure, said James Steele, chief of the Central Mat-Su Fire Department.

Five women, and possibly a couple of children, were inside the church working on crafts, but everyone got out safely after a fire alarm alerted them to trouble, Steele said.

Palin’s office issued the following statement on Saturday:

Gov. Palin stopped by the church this morning, and she told an assistant pastor that she apologizes if the incident is in any way connected to the undeserved negative attention the church has received since she became a vice-presidential candidate on Aug. 29.

Whatever the motives of the arsonist, the governor has faith in the scriptural passage that what was intended for evil will in some way be used for good.

The incident is being handled as probable arson:

It was the biggest fire the department has seen this year, and Steele said as many as 35 to 40 volunteer firefighters came from across the region to battle the blaze.

"We are definitely treating it as suspicious and as potential arson at this point," he said.

Steele declined to say why investigators believe the fire might have been set deliberately, or whether accelerants were found on the scene.

Nothing thus far suggests any political motivation for the fire, the chief said.

"Right now there’s no indication that we have that there’s any connection there. We just don’t have any leads at all as far as the intent or motive in this," Steele said.

The building is worth between $4 million and $5 million, and sustained an estimated $1 million in damage, he said.A task force has been formed to investigate, including people from the state fire marshal’s office, the Central Mat-Su Fire Department, the Wasilla Police Department and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Anchorage Fire Department also sent out an investigator.

Other news outlets from Wasilla to Atlanta have covered the story. A theme was hinted at yesterday, in an Associated Press story that got picked up by MSNBC, that goes like this:

The 1,000-member evangelical church was the subject of intense scrutiny after Palin was named John McCain’s running mate. Early in Palin’s campaign, the church was criticized for promoting in a Sunday bulletin a Focus on the Family "Love Won Out Conference" in Anchorage. The conference promised to "help men and women dissatisfied with living homosexually understand that same-sex attractions can be overcome."

That makes no sense. The Wasilla church noted in a bulletin that another church was having an upcoming event. Dozens of southcentral Alaska evangelical churches posted the same notice.

Gov. Palin’s religious activities in Alaska were little known until she was picked by Sen. John McCain to be his running mate in the 2008 presidential contest. Then national media writers and Alaska bloggers covered aspects of her religious background in detail. The Wasilla Bible Church’s bulletin’s schedule of upcoming events at other churches was way, way, way down the list.

Linda Kellen, at Celtic Diva’s Blue Oasis covered this Sunday:

Yet it was made clear at the time that the actual Conference did NOT take place at the Wasilla Bible Church, but at the Abbott Loop Christian Center in Anchorage.No…the truly negative attention went to her previous church…the one that she still occasionally attended despite her claim that she had switched churches…the Wasilla Assembly of God

The only controversy involving Gov. Palin and the WasillaBible Church, was her attendance, a couple of weeks before the VP selection, at a conference there, led by David Brickner. Brickner heads the evangelical-friendly organization, Jews for Jesus.

Palin’s attendance at this sole controversial session at the WBC merited little national attention during the fall campaign. Nor did the WBC’s role in promoting the Abbot Loop event. The two big issues about her religious beliefs were her relationship with Pastor Thomas Muthee, and her one-time young earth creationism fervor.

Why the national meme on this has gone in the direction it so far has taken beats me.

When I wrote about this yesterday at Progressive Alaska, I closed with these arson investigation notes:

Six major classifications of motives for arson:

• Vandalism • Revenge

• Profit • Extremist Action •

Crime Concealment • Thrill, Excitement Seeking

Vandalism is perhaps the most easily understood motive. The offender intends to do damage. The most common targets are schools or their related property. The Profit motive arises when the arsonist destroys property or inventory to collect insurance. He may set a fire as a means to gain employment. Or he may get Mom to do it:

Recently, the mother of a North County, California firefighter was convicted of setting five fires in the Shasta-Trinity National Forests so her son could get more overtime and hazardous-duty pay. There are also cases of private contractors of water tankers, bulldozers, and delivery trucks setting fires to boost the need for their services.Another common reason for a fire is to conceal the evidence of crime — be that a burglary or homicide. Or the arson may be concealing wrongdoing by burning his business records.

Some fires are set from a wish to extract revenge. Fires are directed at a particular person: the fired worker angry at his boss, an evicted tenant striking at a landlord, a spurned lover evening the score. An arsonist may have some grievance with the government, a church, the academic world, the military, or a group of people. These fires are considered to be set for extremist reasons. A National Church Arson Task Force has opened 945 investigations on attacks on houses of worship between January 1995 and September 1998 (church arson became a federal crime in 1996). In 1998, a group called the Earth Liberation Front set fires to a ski lodge in Vail, Colorado because the lodge was encroaching on the habitat of lynxes (they did $12 million in damage).

Some fires are set from a thirst for excitement. This category includes bored teenagers seeking thrills or loners recognition. This latter reason is an example of something often called the "Hero Syndrome." The offender becomes a local hero for spotting a fire no one else sees — a fire he has set. An offender may also set fires out of sexual excitement, but such a motivation, according to the FBI, is rather rare.

Arsonists are usually young. According to the FBI, juveniles were involved in 45% of arson incidents cleared by law enforcement in 2000. About 85% of arsonists are male and 80% are white. In a 1988 Department of Justice study, 31% of prison inmates whose most serious offense was arson were under the influence of illegal drugs when they committed their crimes; 39% of inmates had used drugs in the month before their offense.

I hope this investigation can move swiftly, accurately.