Palm Springs Cultural Center assessing damage after Saturday night roof fire ⋆ The Palm Springs Post

*Crews from the Palm Springs Fire Department work Saturday evening to put out a fire at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. (Photo: PSFD)*

The Palm Springs Cultural Center is assessing the extent of damage to its facility after a fire tore through the roof and attic above the building’s cafe Saturday evening, leaving the space unusable and the theater’s reopening timeline uncertain.

In a statement released Sunday, Cultural Center staff said the cafe bore the brunt of the damage, with the roof and walls above it badly burned and debris and water falling through the ceiling into the space below. “The cafe is damaged to the point of being unusable,” the statement read.

Staff also reported water damage at the rear of Theatres Two and Three, and said smoke odor has spread throughout the building.

There was better news for other parts of the facility.

“The projectors, the lobby, Theatre One and the lounge appear to be largely unaffected,” according to the statement.

The center said it cannot yet say when it might reopen, even in part. “We do not know yet when we might be able to reopen even a portion of the building,” the statement said. “Please be patient with us. We will share that information as it becomes available to us.”

Staff credited first responders with a swift reaction, writing that Palm Springs Fire Department Station 2 “arrived quickly and got the fire out in less than an hour. They were great!”

The Palm Springs Fire Department confirmed in its own statement Sunday that 31 firefighters, with assistance from CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department, responded to the blaze at approximately 7:35 p.m. Crews contained the fire to the roof and attic above the kitchen area, preventing it from spreading to the rest of the structure. Thirty people were evacuated as a precaution.

The fire was declared under control at 8:18 p.m., and no civilian or firefighter injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and the full extent of the damage has not yet been determined.

To help: The nonprofit Cultural Center could use all the help it can get as it tries to bounce back from the fire. To make a donation, click here.