Burned California mall hopes to reopen for holidays

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in a Sacramento suburb Friday after part of a regional mall was consumed by an arson fire that collapsed portions of the roof, destroyed 20 stores and caused at least $6.5 million in damage.

Yet city officials said unburned sections of the upscale Westfield Galleria at Roseville could reopen within weeks, in time for the holiday shopping season.

Roseville Fire Department spokesman Dennis Mathisen said about 20 of the Westfield Galleria's more than 200 stores, including Finish Line, Anchor Blue and PacSun, were destroyed along with the GameStop video game store where the fire was set Thursday.

Two anchor stores near the fire's origin - Macy's and JC Penney - were not as severely damaged.

Smoke lapped into the mall's center court where Santa Claus would normally set up shop next month. But smoke, water and fire damage was limited in the rest of the 1.3-million-square-foot mall, and a newer portion of the mall was barely affected, Mathisen said.

Large portions of the roof collapsed onto the burned section of the mall about 17 miles east of the state capital, and a major supporting wall spanning about 200 feet was in danger of collapse.