Arlington Garden Closes Temporarily After Fire

Arlington Garden temporarily closed Wednesday after an early morning fire destroyed its primary storage shed, causing significant damage to the garden’s operations.

The fire broke out in the garden’s storage shed, which contained all of the organization’s essential tools, equipment, supplies and automated irrigation system.

“The shed has been here since the early days of the garden. It and its contents are mostly not recoverable, and this is a very significant material loss for the garden,” the organization’s statement said.

Despite the extensive damage, nonprofit officials noted a silver lining.

“Thankfully, the areas around the shed were mostly untouched and our nearby climate appropriate plantings were highly resilient — they were hardly even singed!” the statement said.

The garden has closed “out of an abundance of caution,” postponing upcoming programs while assessing the damage.

“Our priority is to ensure the site is safe for all visitors while we assess the damage and begin the clean up process,” officials said.

Local neighbors quickly alerted authorities, and the South Pasadena Fire Department and Pasadena Fire Department responded swiftly. The garden expressed deep gratitude for the emergency responders’ quick action.

“We are very grateful to our neighbors who called in the fire, and especially thankful to the South Pasadena Fire Department and Pasadena Fire Department for their quick response,” the statement said.

“For your own safety, we ask that you mind the barriers we have put up at the entrances and please stay out of the garden!” the statement warned.

The organization promises to share more information about the fire’s impacts and potential community support opportunities in the near future. Interested individuals can email info@arlingtongardenpasadena.org with questions.

“We will post an update when we reopen, and we hope to see you at the garden soon,” the statement concluded.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.