Firefighters extinguished a two-alarm fire in a Buddhist temple in Garden Grove Wednesday morning, but not before the blaze caused nearly a half-million dollars in damage.
Firefighters responded about 11:40 p.m. Tuesday to the 12200 block of Magnolia Street and found flames coming from the Chua Vien Minh temple, according to Capt. Thahn Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department.
Two women, including a religious leader, were in the temple, which had been converted from a house, at the time of the fire. They were awakened by a smoke alarm.
The cause was a burning candle in an altar next to the main building, according to Garden Grove firefighters. The accidental fire appears to have started near the front porch area, according to the fire department.
It took 32 firefighters 32 minutes to get the fire under control, Nguyen said.
Damage was estimated at $450,000.
