UPDATE: Authorities ask for help getting information on Ft. Imagination fire, arson suspected

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Authorities are asking for help getting information on a fire that was likely arson at the Ft. Imagination playground near the Abilene Zoo Friday morning.

Anyone with information on the fire that destroyed the playground at Grover Nelson Park on Zoo Lane overnight is asked to contact the Abilene Fire Marshal’s Office, the Abilene Police Department, or those wishing to remain anonymous can call Abilene Crime Stoppers at (325)676-8477.

First responders arrived to a fire call at Ft. Imagination around 12:30 a.m. and found the entire playground area engulfed in flames.

The fire was so large, it took additional crews around 3 hours to get it extinguished, leaving the structure destroyed.

Investigators believe arson is the likely cause behind the fire, as well as additional small fires that were found in trash cans around Grover Nelson Park.

Fire Chief Cande Flores told KTAB and KRBC Ft. Imagination, which is located at Grover Nelson Park on Zoo Lane, is comprised of synthetic materials that would not have caught fire from something like a dropped cigarette, so some sort of accelerant would have been necessary to cause such a large, sudden combustion.

Demolition and cleanup of the Ft. Imagination site is already underway by the City of Abilene’s Parks and Recreation Department is already underway.

Additional information has not been released at this time.

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