Fires Destroy 2 Predominantly White Churches In South

A rural, predominantly white church was destroyed by fire before daybreak Friday. The only thing salvaged from its 129-year-old sanctuary was the white cross from the steeple that had fallen to the ground.

Late Thursday, fire also destroyed a rural, predominantly white church in Englewood, Tenn., hours after Vice President Al Gore spoke elsewhere in the state about the rash of church fires across the South.

At least 40 fires at predominantly black churches have been reported over the past 18 months across the Southeast. Federal authorities have been investigating suspicious fires at a roughly equal number of white churches during the same period.

In North Carolina, a piece of carpet from the Pleasant Ridge United Church of Christ in Guilford County was sent to the State Bureau of Investigation to be tested for signs of arson.

Guilford County Sheriff B.J. Barnes said it wasn’t immediately clear whether the fire was accidental, but noted the church had been having problems with its air conditioner.

In Tennessee, the cause of the fire at the God’s Chapel Church was not immediately clear. Firefighters decided to let the blaze burn itself out after the church’s walls caved in.