Investigators call Reno apartment complex blaze arson

RENO -- A huge fire that destroyed more than 200 apartments in a luxury complex under construction on the south side of town along U.S. Highway 395 was the result of arson, investigators said Friday.

The fire that broke out late Wednesday destroyed 22 of the 36 buildings of The Alexander complex being built by a company owned by billionaire developer and San Diego Chargers owner Alex Spanos.

"We have eliminated all of the accidental sources and are determining this was an intentionally set fire," Reno fire marshal Joan Presley said Friday.

Among other things, investigators ruled out space heaters and electrical problems as possible causes, she said. She said they have "identified an area of origin" of the fire but don't know yet how it was set.

The 80-foot-tall flames burned so hot just after midnight that they melted the windshield of a fire truck, forced evacuation of a nearby trailer park and closure of the highway for several hours.

Officials with the complex developer, Stockton, Calif.-based A.G. Spanos Cos., said Thursday they plan to rebuild portions of the complex.