Cause found of fire at mainly black South Carolina church

GREELEYVILLE, South Carolina -- As social media buzzed about the recent spate of fires at churches in the South with predominantly black congregations, investigators announced Thursday that weather caused a destructive blaze at one such church in South Carolina.

The State Law Enforcement Division said in a statement that investigators found no evidence of criminal intent in the fire at Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church in Greeleyville, about 50 miles north of the "Mother Emanuel" church in Charleston where nine people were killed June 17.

The pastor at the rural black church targeted by the Ku Klux Klan 20 years ago had said he suspected lightning was to blame.

SLED says its conclusion was based on an examination of the scene, analysis of debris, witness statements and a lightning strike report.

"All of the factors led us to the conclusion that the cause of this fire was natural," SLED spokesman Thom Berry said.

While investigators look into other fires, a question is spreading online: #WhoIsBurningBlackChurches?

The answers could likely be no different than what causes other buildings to burn, according to analysts studying the incidents reported by fire departments nationwide.

More than half of fires at houses of worship from 2007 to 2011 were blamed on cooking equipment and heating and electrical systems, according to estimates by the National Fire Protection Association. The association based its estimate on data collected by the U.S. Fire Administration and supplemented with survey results. An estimated 16 percent were intentionally set, and a fraction of those were later deemed hate crimes. Those figures on fires at religious structures include a small number of funeral homes.

The structure was a total loss, reports CBS Columbia, South Carolina affiliate WLTX. The church will have Sunday services at the Kennedy Center in town.

This is the second time in the past two decades that the church has been forced to rebuild, the station notes. In 1995, Mt. Zion AME was burned to the ground by two members of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1996, President Bill Clinton came to the church for its re-dedication.