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say electrical conductors overheated and ignited insulation and started a fire that destroyed the Zion Lutheran church in Oriska last month.

Deputy State Fire Marshall Jerry Crane says the cause of the fire was ruled accidental.

Crane says some repair work was in progress that caused some of the updated circuit breakers to trip during the week. He says members of the congregation reported the smell of smoke during the Sunday church service.

Crane says witnesses told him the fire started in the northwest corner of the attic of the church on May 16.

Church member Kim Seidlinger says, “its shocking to see, this was a beautiful church and now we’ll try to rebuild it.”

She says confirmation was held on Sunday, May 15 and all the money from the service was burned in a steel box during the fire.

Seidlinger says a portion of the church inside and some new items were recently updated in a remodeling project are now gone. The Zion Lutheran church in Oriska was built in 1904.