‘Never seen it this bad’: Fire vandalism rekindled at St. George parks

ST. GEORGE — Bathrooms in at least two St. George parks have seen incidents of severe vandalism and arson over the last week, and police are looking for the person or people responsible. 

Roof of the men’s bathroom at St. James Park covered in soot, St. George, Utah, Feb. 1, 2022 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

The vandalism is similar to that seen in park bathrooms in late 2020 – a crime that has never been solved. St. George Police are investigating the latest incidents and seeking help from the public if anyone saw suspicious activity. 

The inside of the men’s restrooms at St. James Park and Larkspur Park, both in southern St. George, have been set on fire multiple times in the last week according to both police and park officials.

While little damage can be seen on the outside of the restrooms, the scarring of burns and smoke are extensive on the inside. Both parks are connected by the St. George trail system used by hikers, walkers, runners and cyclists. 

The result has been an inconvenience for the hikers and bikers and a major pain for St. George Parks and Recreation worker Tony Pattelli, who has been tasked with cleaning up the damage. 

On Tuesday morning, he started his workday by painting the men’s bathroom at St. James Park. His entire work shift was going to be spent doing that. Meanwhile, the other tasks at St. James and other local parks would go unattended. Pattelli pointed to overgrown and dying foliage next to the bathroom that he was supposed to get to Monday.

Damage in the men’s bathroom at St. James Park after some repainting, St. George, Utah, Feb. 1, 2022 | Photo by Chris Reed, St. George News

“It takes time away from other things, you know. Now I’ve got to paint today,” Pattelli said. “It’s my job but there are other things I should be doing. We need to catch the people who are doing this.”

Pattelli had already painted some of the damage at the St. James Park bathroom, where the toilet paper in the dispenser had been set on fire. But there were burn marks that could still be seen on the wall and soot covering the roof and floor, as well as the toilet itself wrapped in a trash bag. A mirror had also been ripped from the wall above the sink and a “closed for repairs” sign was up on the door outside.

At Larkspur Park, there is a similar scene. Though in that case, park officials said the entire floor of the men’s bathroom is burned. In both cases, the cinder-block wall construction of the facilities kept the fires inside. 

Both parks are connected by the St. George trail system in the connection between the Fort Pierce Wash Trail to the Bloomington Hills North Trail. St. James Park is also the due east point of the popular Mayor’s Loop trail

Map shows locations of St. James Park and Larkspur Park in St. George, Utah | Fire graphic by iStock/Getty Images Plus, photo courtesy of Google Maps, St. George News

Vandalism is nothing new for St. George Park bathrooms or any park. There will be the occasional etching or something written on a bathroom door or toilet paper stolen. But Pattelli said in the more than a decade he’s been working for the parks, this is the worst he’s seen.

“We’ve never seen it this bad – never,” Pattelli said. “This was the worst I’ve seen, and I’ve been here 12 years.”

Shane Moore, St. George’s deputy director of parks, said crew members like Pattelli do extra work to maintain the park restrooms. That includes repainting each restroom once a year. “Now they have to come back and start over,” Moore said. 

That makes this personal for park staff, who Moore said take seriously as they want to maintain a good reputation for park visitors, rather than have a person walk into a parks restroom in St. George to the filth, vandalism or stench they would in most other cities.  

“Something like this just rocks the entire community,” Moore said. “People feel like they can stop in these restrooms and feel safe.”

Damage caused by vandals in a public restroom in St. George, Utah, December 2020 | Photo courtesy of the City of St. George, St. George News

In late 2020, a string of similar incidents were seen at Sunset Park to the north and Silkwood Park in southern St. George. The vandalism was similar, with fires started from toilet paper rolls and physical damage to equipment. 

Both Moore and Officer Tiffany Mitchell with St. George Police said the culprit or culprits behind those incidents and others were never caught. 

“None of them had had any suspect info, which is frustrating,” Mitchell said.

Police and park officials say they hope that this time, someone may have seen those responsible. Police are asking people to call 435-627-4300 if there is any information they can provide and reference incident 22P002423.  

Moore said the damage to each bathroom is around $3,000. And he said he’s keeping the receipts.

“If we find the person … they will be held liable,” Moore said. “If you see something, say something.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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