McKinley Park Fire Believed To Be Arson

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - One of Sacramento's biggest playgrounds was found in flames early Saturday morning at McKinley Park.

Investigators are calling it arson.

Disgust and anger is felt by an East Sacramento community after part of a historic playground is burned down.

"Right now our investigators are saying this is arson, nothing accidental that could of caused this fire," said Asst. Chief Niko King, Sacramento Fire.

Investigators say the fire started in a middle section of the playground that was protected from wind, a sure sign this was no accident.

"These are heavy timbers. There are no electrical wires that could have caused this; it was human-caused," said King.

In 1994 it took just 4 days to build the $500,000 playground. Kids like Sienna have been coming here for the past 11 years.

"They're trying to make a little kid cry," said 11-year-old Sienna.

While half of the playground remains open, parents and children can't help but wonder who destroyed their structure.

"I think they shouldn't burn it down because it's a nice place to play here," said 8-year-old Kayla.

"This is one of the nicer parks in Sacramento, it's just really sad to see," said parent Helena Heart.

Councilman Steve Cohn is a part of this East Sacramento community and has confidence in the rebuild process

"The way the community responds in a case like this is 'get this thing rebuilt as quickly as possible,' " said Cohn.

City officials will meet on Monday to discuss a rebuilding plan.