No arrests have been made in connection with the two alleged arsons that occurred Feb. 24 at the Santa Cruz and Alcalde post offices, according to the United States Postal Service.
Fires were started in the lobbies of both post offices that morning, Postal inspector Amanda McMurray said.
The Alcalde Post Office reopened the same day because it suffered little damage. The Santa Cruz Post Office was temporarily closed and only the service side of the building was re-opened Feb. 25, McMurray said. The lobby area was reopened Monday, Santa Cruz Postmaster Joseph Valdez said.
“We had to remodel the whole lobby,” Valdez said. “It was a mess.”
Valdez said the lobby, which had been open 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, to allow customers access to their post office boxes, will now close at 4:30 p.m. Valdez noted the building doesn’t have adequate lighting, which makes the facility more vulnerable to vandalism after dark. He is also looking into getting timers installed on the doors to allow the hours to be extended somewhat without staff being present.
McMurray said she couldn’t disclose details of the investigation, which is being done in cooperation with the state Fire Marshal’s office.