A large fire gutted a 131-year-old Victorian-style home in Pasadena early Saturday, causing nearly $1.5 million worth of damage, authorities said.
The two-alarm blaze was first reported at 2:40 a.m. at the vacant, two-story home at 30 West Mountain Street, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
Forty-three firefighters from Pasadena and neighboring cities extinguished the flames, she said. Two firefighters were evaluated for minor injuries and returned to duty, according to Derderian.
Officials estimated the fire caused $1.4 million worth of damage to the house, and another $50,000 in damage to contents stored inside, she said.
Mary Wright Falvey, 75, of Monrovia, said her great grandfather, Amos Wright, built the home in 1886.
Though she never lived in the home, Falvey said she feels a strong connection to it because of her family’s history there.
“I’m just sick,” she said. “It was just beautiful. It had the most beautiful oak baniser curled about the entrance,” she said.
Falvey said she’s been trying to work with the city in recent months to try to have the home designated a historical landmark. She was still trying when the fire occurred.
Several investigators were summoned to the scene to look into the cause of the fire, which was yet to be determined Saturday afternoon.
Falvey said she reported spotting trespassers at the vacant home in April and has been concerned about possible squatters there. She also once visited the home to find the rear door had been forced open.
Pasadena police Lt. William Grisafe said officials received reports of people seen leaving the home after the fire broke out. It was unclear who they were, or whether they had any involvement in the fire.

PHOTOS courtesy of Jamie Nicholson/Pasadena Fire Department