Los Angeles church destroyed in fire ahead of Christmas celebrations

A church in Los Angeles County was destroyed in a large fire early Sunday, just hours before community members planned to gather for Christmas celebrations.

Firefighters arrived at Victory Outreach church in Pomona, California, at 2:47 a.m., the Los Angeles County Fire Department said on X, formerly known as Twitter. Responding fire department units arrived at the scene and saw a massive fire with smoke billowing from the church.

"As some of you might have heard, this morning our church building caught on fire and it was redeemed a total loss," the church, which was built in 1981, said in social media posts. "Please join us in prayer for our pastors and our church."

A fire department spokesperson told television station KABC firefighters launched an aggressive interior attack of the fire when they arrived. After about 20 minutes, the fire expanded and the roof the church began to collapse, KABC reported.

No injuries were reported, according to the fire department. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The church said its planned Sunday celebrations, including a morning service and a Christmas play, were postponed. The church still plans to hold its toy giveaway and give away hundreds of toys to local children at 5 p.m. Sunday with the help of local firefighters.

The Rev. Robert Garcia told television station KTLA 500 people registered for the church’s planned celebration.

“It’s a tough morning for us, because today we were getting ready to have our outreach for the whole community,” he said.

A GoFundMe page was set up to raise funds to rebuild the church.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department and Victory Outreach church did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's requests for comment.

Contributing: The Associated Press